Does anyone actually follow Fox News on the Twitter?
Apparently @foxnewspolitics was hacked Monday. The hackers, a group called TheScriptKiddies, sent six tweets that President Obama had been shot dead.
Seriously. That happened.
The first tweet posted near 2 a.m., reading “@BarackObama has just passed. The President is dead. A sad 4th of July, indeed. President Barack Obama is dead”; the tweets remained on the account until about noontime Monday.
A subsequent tweet said he Obama been “shot twice in the lower pelvic area and in the neck; shooter unknown,” and had “bled out.” The next one said he had been shot at Ross’s restaurant in Iowa.
The final message said stated: “We wish @joebiden the best of luck as our new President of the United States. In such a time of madness, there’s light at the end of tunnel.”
Of course, Obama wasn’t shot. We all know this. Duh.
I get hacking Fox. And I get sending malicious tweets if disdain for Fox is your main goal. Discrediting a news network is a pretty effective tool…when you actually pick something people will believe.
But tweeting that the president is dead? That’s just sick. And weird. And kind of lame.
Did anyone actually believe that? Wouldn’t that kind of news have been all over every media outlet and not just on Fox’s Twitter?
And the Secret Service is now investigating. That’s what happens when you hack a Twitter account and tweet that the president was shot. You get the emeffing Secret Service after you.
Sigh.
Fox issued a statement saying the messages—that Obama had been assassinated—were obviously wrong and that it regrets “any distress the false tweets may have created.”
Jeff Misenti, general manager of Fox News Digital, says that “FoxNews.com is working with Twitter to address the situation as quickly as possible. We will be requesting a detailed investigation from Twitter about how this occurred, and measures to prevent future unauthorized access into FoxNews.com accounts.”
All I have to say to that is:
Hackers, you can do better. Also, try to be more tasteful next time. Because this one sucked on so many levels. Good luck with the Secret Service.
Vinny C
07/05/2011
These guys were obviously just a bunch of goofballs playing around if that’s the best they could do.
AndyGirl
07/05/2011
I agree. and they have a bad sense of humor.
TILTE
07/05/2011
Wow, the whole “shot president” aspect is pretty fucking daring. I think the secret service is the LAST group of people I’d want following my blog.
AndyGirl
07/05/2011
Right? I can’t imagine the nerve.
LN
07/05/2011
FYI, “lame” is a slur. http://zeroatthebone.wordpress.com/2009/09/24/next-on-the-list-of-things-that-really-annoy-me/ It’s just as easy and less offensive to say “stupid.”
AndyGirl
07/05/2011
I understand. Everyone has words that bother or offend. Personally, I hate when people say “gay” to mean stupid. I do know the etymology of “lame,” however, and I did intend to use the word lame with the modern definition.
Lame
adjective
a lame excuse: feeble, weak, thin, flimsy, poor, sorry; unconvincing, implausible, unlikely. ANTONYMS convincing.
I chose this word purposefully and I stand by its usage per definition and in a non-offensive capacity. Nonetheless, I apologize if I’ve offended.