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AP Twitter Account Hacked: False Report of White House Explosions

Jacqueline Jackson, Kiran Kazalbash |
April 23, 2013 | 12:04 p.m. PDT

Executive Producer

 

Associated Press Twitter Hacked |Twitter  Screenshot
Associated Press Twitter Hacked |Twitter Screenshot
The Associated Press Twitter account was hacked early Tuesday morning. One tweet went out from the verified account which stated,  "Breaking: Two Explosions in the White House and Barack Obama is injured."

The nation was sent into a panic as followers of the Associated Press account retweeted the message over 1,000 times extending the reach of the message into the hundreds of thousands. Not too long after the tweet went out the nations stock exchange reacted almost immediately. The U.S. Dow Jones fell 1% an equivalent of over 150 points after the tweet went viral. The urgent drop in the Dow has since risen back to a steady rate.

The Associated Press quickly withdrew the statement and confirmed the hack via Facebook and its Corporate Twitter Account. While, Twitter and representatives from both the Associated Press office and White House also confirmed the hacking and safety of our nation and President. 

The Associated Press released a statement immediately saying "The AP twitter account has been hacked," the news cooperative said moments after the incident. "The tweet about an attack at the White House is false. We will advise more as soon as possible."

Associated Press Corp. Communication Account | Screenshot
Associated Press Corp. Communication Account | Screenshot

The Associated Press has suspended its Twitter account and not released any further information on the hacking or when their account will be back online. 

For more information on the social media reaction check out our Storify below:

 

Reach Executive Producer Jacqueline Jackson here. Follow her here.  



 

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