The US Secret Service said it was investigating the apparent hacking of an official Twitter account operated by Fox News that posted a series of tweets claiming President Barack Obama had been assassinated.
The Twitter feed for the television network’s political news – @FoxNewspolitics – sent out a series of “malicious and false tweets,” starting around 2 a.m., Fox News confirmed in a statement. The posts had not been taken down hours later.
“@BarackObama has just passed. The president is dead. A sad 4th of July, indeed. President Barack Obama is dead,” read the first of the Obama-related tweets.
Just before false posts began, the hackers apparently announced their control to the account, with the post: “Just regained full access to our Twitter and email. Happy 4th.”
The updates, which were “retweeted” by thousands on the micro-blogging site and prompted headlines around the world, said Mr Obama had been “shot twice at a Ross restaurant in Iowa” during a campaign spot.
The US leader was in fact in Washington, not Iowa, and was planning to celebrate the July 4 holiday with his family and military families later Monday.
“President @BarackObama assassinated, two gunshot wounds have proved too much. It’s a sad 4th for #america. #obamadead RIP,” continued the tweets.
Fox News said the hacking was being investigated, and that it “regrets any distress the false tweets may have created.”
Asked about the apparent hacking, Edwin Donovan, a spokesman for the Secret Service – the federal law enforcement agency tasked with ensuring the president’s safety – was looking into the fake posts.
A group calling itself The ScriptKiddies claimed responsibility for sending the tweets – including “#ObamaDead, it’s a sad 4th of July” – from the “FoxNewspolitics” news feed before Twitter suspended its access. In all, some six false tweets were issued, saying Barack Obama had been shot at a restaurant in Iowa while campaigning.
Mr Obama was not in Iowa this weekend. He returned on Sunday to the White House from a brief trip to Camp David in neighbouring Maryland.
The Foxnews.com account hacking followed a wave of highly publicised cyber security breaches, including attacks on the bank Citigroup, Sony Corp., Apple and the US Senate and Brazilian presidential websites. Monday’s breach raised questions about the integrity of news feeds on Twitter, which is increasingly used by news outlets as well as government officials as a way to reach readers and supporters.
Twitter official Jodi Olson declined to say whether the company would add more security as a result of the attack, but stressed it was important for users to shield their profiles.
“We don’t comment on specific accounts. In general, though, it’s always good to remind people of the importance of actively protecting their account credentials,” Mr Olson said, recommending that all users have a strong password as a “starting point.”
The FoxNews.com hacking came two days before Obama’s first “Twitter town hall” where he will field tweeted questions about the economy and jobs.
Twitter’s co-founder and executive chairman Jack Dorsey is due to moderate that at today’s session at the White House.
“We will be requesting a detailed investigation from Twitter about how this occurred, and measures to prevent future unauthorised access into FoxNews.com accounts,” Mr Misenti said.
Fox.com, another Fox Entertainment Group website, was the target of an attack by hacker group Lulz Security in May.
LulzSec has also made assaults on Sony, the US Central Int-elligence Agency and other targets.
The attacks have mostly resulted in temporary disruptions to websites and the release of user credentials.