Earlier today, unspecified hackers took over the AP Twitter feed and sent out fake tweets claiming that two explosions had rocked the White House and President Obama had been injured. White House spokesman Jay Carney immediately told reporters that Obama was indeed fine and no such bombings had taken place. The AP Twitter account was suspended directly after the fake tweets went out. Beyond causing quick retweets with unfortunate and terrifying fake news, the hacked AP Twitter feed also caused the S&P 500 and the Dow Jones Industrial Average to drop drastically before quick recoveries when news got out about the falsehood of the tweets.
AP joins CBS, which had the Twitter accounts of 60 Minutes and 48 Hours hacked over the weekend. The 60 Minutes Twitter account including such tweets as one claiming that the U.S. government was “hiding the real culprit of the Boston bombing.”
As of this time, no suspects have been identified in either hacking case.
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