AP Twitter account hacked with 'White House explosions, Barack Obama injured' tweet
The news agency was targeted by hackers who tweeted that the US President had been involved in a suspected terror attack
Online pranksters sparked panic on Twitter after hacking a leading news agency's account and claiming President Barack Obama had been injured in a terrorist attack. The Associated Press tweeted: "Breaking: Two Explosions in the White House and Barack Obama is injured" Within seconds the post had been retweeted hundreds of times with Twitter users scrambling for more information about the feared double bombing. But minutes later, the AP account was suspended confirming speculation that the news agency had been targeted by hackers. AP later said: "The @AP twitter account has been hacked. The tweet about an attack at the White House is false."
AP hacked Tweet
Twitter
The tweet came after hackers made repeated attempts to steal the passwords of AP journalists.AP added that its Twitter account had been suspended following a hack and said it was working to correct the issue.The cyberattack is the latest in a string targeting international media organisations.
AP journalist Sam Hananel confirmed the hacking to his followers. He wrote: "Please Ignore AP Tweet on explosions, we've been hacked." Despite being live for only a matter of minutes, the tweet caused a sudden dip the US stock market. Steve Goldstein, from the Wall Street Journal's Market Watch, wrote that US stocks plummeted with some outlets reporting the Dow Jones dropped more 150 points.
The news agency was targeted by hackers who tweeted that the US President had been involved in a suspected terror attack
Online pranksters sparked panic on Twitter after hacking a leading news agency's account and claiming President Barack Obama had been injured in a terrorist attack. The Associated Press tweeted: "Breaking: Two Explosions in the White House and Barack Obama is injured" Within seconds the post had been retweeted hundreds of times with Twitter users scrambling for more information about the feared double bombing. But minutes later, the AP account was suspended confirming speculation that the news agency had been targeted by hackers. AP later said: "The @AP twitter account has been hacked. The tweet about an attack at the White House is false."
AP hacked Tweet The tweet came after hackers made repeated attempts to steal the passwords of AP journalists.AP added that its Twitter account had been suspended following a hack and said it was working to correct the issue.The cyberattack is the latest in a string targeting international media organisations.
AP journalist Sam Hananel confirmed the hacking to his followers. He wrote: "Please Ignore AP Tweet on explosions, we've been hacked." Despite being live for only a matter of minutes, the tweet caused a sudden dip the US stock market. Steve Goldstein, from the Wall Street Journal's Market Watch, wrote that US stocks plummeted with some outlets reporting the Dow Jones dropped more 150 points.