The White House just launched an 'Iran Deal' Twitter account to 'set the record straight'

GlobalPost

The Obama administration has come up with a new way to convince the American public, lawmakers in Congress, and the world that the nuclear deal with Iran is a good one: Twitter.

The White House launched a new PR campaign Tuesday morning with a website and a Twitter account (@TheIranDeal) with the stated purpose of explaining the deal, and the implied purpose of selling it. 

"Get the facts on the #IranDeal," the Twitter bio for @TheIranDeal reads. "Tweet us your questions, and we'll se the record straight."

At the time this article was published, the account had 2,500 followers and had tweeted once: a link to the White House's Iran deal website, where readers can find a video of President Obama explaining the deal, as well as infographics like the one above.

You'd think the White House wouldn't need to keep selling the accord — that after months of negotiations it wouldn't need shareable infographics and Twitter accounts to seal the deal. Tehran and the P5+1 have successfully negotiated an arrangement that will lift economic sanctions in exchange for guarantees (and enforcement measures) that Iran can't develop a nuclear weapon. The European Union is on board. The United Nations Security Council unanimously voted to endorse

But really, it's just the start. The United States Congress has 60 days to consider the deal. If lawmakers reject it, Obama has promised a veto, which means Congress will need a two-thirds majority to override him. That will be hard to pull off, but Obama doesn't want any chances. There's also the strength and longevity of the deal to consider. With Israel loudly opposing it and Republican presidential candidates lining up to smack it down, the president needs to build as strong a consensus as possible if he wants to make sure the negotiated deal doesn't fall apart — now or after he leaves office.

That means lobbying national security experts and policy-makers behind closed doors. And apparently, it also means lobbying your Twitter feed.

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