Hackers compromised Twitter accounts of The Associated Press on Tuesday, sending out an erroneous tweet about an attack at the White House.
The tweet said that there had been two explosions at the White House and President Barack Obama was injured. The attack on AP’s Twitter account and AP mobile app was preceded by a phishing attempt on AP’s corporate network.
The AP confirmed that its Twitter account had been >suspended following a hack and said it was working to correct the issue.
The tweet put out by hackers briefly sent the Dow Jones Industrial Average sharply lower.
PTI adds:
Obama is fine, says White House
Mr. Obama is fine, a presidential spokesman said on Tuesday after a hacked AP Twitter account sent out fake news about two bomb blasts at the White House and that the President was injured.
“The President is fine,” White House press secretary Jay Carney told reporters at the top of his daily news conference.
Moments before the start of the conference, the twitter account of the Associated Press said, “Breaking: Two Explosions in the White House and Barack Obama is injured.”
The AP quickly announced its account had been hacked.
“It appears as though AP’s Twitter account has been attacked, so anything that was just sent out ... is obviously false,” AP’s White House correspondent Julie Pace said at the start of the briefing.
“I appreciate that,” Mr. Carney told Ms. Pace. “And I can say that the president is fine, I was just with him.”
