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# LeWeb: The age of Twitter diplomacy is here
- URL: https://onemanandhisblog.com/2014/12/twitter-diplomacy-matthias-lufkens/
- Published: 2014-12-11T10:32:54.000Z
- Updated: 2015-04-08T16:27:14.000Z
- Author: Adam Tinworth
- Tags: culture, diplomacy, Matthias Lüfkens, Politics, X (Twitter), world politics

[![Matthias Lüfkens](https://i1.wp.com/www.onemanandhisblog.com/content/images/2014/12/matthias-lufkens-thumb-1600xauto-3983.jpg?resize=960%2C717)](https://i2.wp.com/www.onemanandhisblog.com/content/images/2014/12/matthias-lufkens.jpg?ref=onemanandhisblog.com)

*Liveblogged notes from Matthias Lüfkens’ talk at LeWeb 2014*

There are now hundreds of accounts of political leaders and foreign ministers on Twitter. Very few world leaders actually do the tweeting themselves. Those that do are normally in northern Europe, on the shores of the Baltic Sea – the [Estonian President](https://twitter.com/ilvestoomas?ref=onemanandhisblog.com), and the [Finnish Prime Minister](https://twitter.com/alexstubb?ref=onemanandhisblog.com), for example. The president of Malaysia is very good at selfies – which are far more engaging than the traditional handshake shots:

> My selfie with President Obama ! [pic.twitter.com/mr94wZtmuA](http://t.co/mr94wZtmuA?ref=onemanandhisblog.com)— Mohd Najib Tun Razak (@NajibRazak) [April 27, 2014](https://twitter.com/NajibRazak/status/460289899791253504?ref=onemanandhisblog.com)

Foreign ministers – in Europe in particular – will use Twitter to make concessions. They @reply each other, they follow each other, and it appears that they direct message each other. Laurent Fabius is the best connected minister at the moment – but it’s his team doing it. Kudos to them, as they’re reaching out to other leaders.

[Tweets by @LaurentFabius](https://twitter.com/LaurentFabius?ref=onemanandhisblog.com)

In the last year we’ve seen the rise of Twitter diplomacy – people attempting to use Twitter to gain influence. It’s becoming a digital battleground. How did the Russians respond to western allies using #unitedforukraine? They co-opted the hashtag.

In September things turned belligerent with NATO tweeting pictures of Russian soldiers in Ukraine, with a mocking response from Russian accounts. #RussiainvededUkraine led to the most retweeted tweet from the Ukraine government.

Some of the behaviour is trolling. Thomas Hendrik Ilves gets heavy trolling. The Latvian foreign minster came out on Twitter:

> I proudly announce I'am gay… Good luck all of you…

— Edgars Rinkēvičs (@edgarsrinkevics) [November 6, 2014](https://twitter.com/edgarsrinkevics/status/530450808132108288?ref=onemanandhisblog.com)

Most response were supportive, but one Russian one mocked. We’ve come perilously close to declarations of war on Twitter – and we’re clearly seeing political posturing.

The age of Twitter diplomacy is here.

## Further reading

You can follow Matthias’s digital diplomacy work on Twitter:

[Follow @twiplomacy](https://twitter.com/twiplomacy?ref=onemanandhisblog.com)

Matthias himself:

[Follow @luefkens](https://twitter.com/luefkens?ref=onemanandhisblog.com)

Burston-Marstler has [a Twiplomacy site](http://twiplomacy.com/?ref=onemanandhisblog.com)  
*Like the liveblogging? I’m part of [Events in Progress](http://events-in-progress.com/?ref=onemanandhisblog.com) – a business devoted to helping you capture your event’s content – and making the most of it.*