Twitter account of the Associated Press was hacked Tuesday, spreading false news of an attack on the White House, injuring President Barack Obama.
According to the AP report, the false news of explosions at the White House was sent out shortly after noon and the account was suspended by Twitter in quick response.
The false tweets said there were two explosions at the White House injuring President Obama, which also resulted in the Dow Jones industrial average falling from 14,697 to 14,554. It recovered the losses quickly, the AP reported.
"The @AP twitter account has been hacked. The tweet about an attack at the White House is false. We will advise more as soon as possible," AP said in a statement.
AP spokesman Paul Colford said they were investigating the attack and trying to find the those responsible. However, the Syrian Electronic Army has claimed responsibility for the attack.
The Syrian Electronic Army, a group of pro-hackers, have also been responsible for hacking Twitter accounts of several news media organizations in recent months. In March, Twitter feeds of the BBC network were hacked and false messages were posted. Similarly, Twitter account of two CBS News programs "60 Minutes" and "48 Hours" were compromised and a series of bogus tweets were posted, last week.
According to the AP, a malware infection on some of its computers. Colford noted the hacking was followed by a phishing attempt on AP's corporate e-mail network.
"Rest assured, the hackers were unable to get hold of any other information beyond the e-mail account," Colford said.
In response to the tweets involving the President, Jay Carney, President Obama's press secretary, said President Obama was unharmed.
"I was just with him," Carney said at a news conference.
© 2025 HNGN, All rights reserved. Do not reproduce without permission.
