The New York Post 'hacked', rogue tweets called for Biden's murder
It is assumed that a Democrat was behind the unauthorized conduct.
-
New York Post 'hacked' in tweets calling for assassination of Biden
The New York Post said on Thursday it had been "hacked" by one of its employees after its Twitter account posted a series of controversial tweets.
Some of the rogue tweets included a call for the assassination of US President Joe Biden and Democrat lawmaker Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez.
The tweets were later removed on Thursday morning.
I’m going to…assume someone hacked the New York Post pic.twitter.com/LK3KMcOmf8
— Matthew Foldi (@MatthewFoldi) October 27, 2022
The Post told AFP that the investigation revealed that the hacking was committed by an employee which had later been fired.
The tweets were posted in the usual format of the tabloid, owned by Australian billionaire Rupert Murdoch.
According to BuzzFeed News reporter David Mack, the Post was able to trace the hacker via a Tweet that included a racist cliche on New York Mayor Eric Adams, who is Black, and linked it to an article on the paper's site with the same title as the tweet text.
The New York Post was “hacked” this morning 💀 pic.twitter.com/cmoyfmRJmY
— Right Wing Cope (@RightWingCope) October 27, 2022
"The employee has been terminated," the Post said in its statement.
"This morning, we immediately removed the vile and reprehensible content from our website and social media accounts."
Read more: Binance hacked, sustains $570m in losses
The tweets come ahead of the upcoming midterm elections which have so far gathered 10 million votes that will decide the future of Biden's democratic agenda.
Many observers have commented that the current voting atmosphere is reflecting a deepening rife between Democrats and Republicans.
Election denialism, which involves casting doubt on election procedures, has been sharply on the rise since former US President Donald Trump's defeat in the 2020 elections.
Election deniers generally believe that the 2020 elections were rigged, that Trump should have won a second term, and that voter fraud was widespread.
According to a poll jointly conducted by Reuters and Ipsos, two out of five US voters say they are concerned that individuals might threaten them or carry out acts of intimidation at polling stations during the US' upcoming November 8 midterm elections.
The poll also found that two-thirds of registered voters are worried that extremists may carry out acts of violence if the outcome of the elections is not what they expected to be.
Read more: Republicans expected to flood the House