Pro-Trump social media app hacked on launch day as half million sign up

GETTR, a Twitter-style platform with posts and trending topics, has advertised itself on the Google and Apple app stores as "a non-bias social network for people all over the world."

July 05, 2021 12:14 pm | Updated 12:14 pm IST

A social media site launched on Sunday by Jason Miller, a senior adviser to former U.S. President Donald Trump, was briefly hacked

A social media site launched on Sunday by Jason Miller, a senior adviser to former U.S. President Donald Trump, was briefly hacked

A social media site launched on Sunday by Jason Miller, a senior adviser to former U.S. President Donald Trump, was briefly hacked, and more than 500,000 people have registered to use the site, Miller said.

(Subscribe to our Today's Cache newsletter for a quick snapshot of top 5 tech stories. Click here to subscribe for free.)

GETTR, a Twitter-style platform with posts and trending topics, has advertised itself on the Google and Apple app stores as "a non-bias social network for people all over the world."

"The problem was detected and sealed in a matter of minutes, and all the intruder was able to accomplish was to change a few user names," Miller said in an emailed statement to Reuters.

A writer for Salon posted screenshots on Twitter of several GETTR profiles, including those of former Secretary of State Mike Pompeo and Miller himself, that were altered to read "JubaBaghdad was here, follow me in twitter :)".

Asked about security on the new social media said, Miller said the situation had been "rectified."

Miller had teased the Trump team's plans to start a new social media platform for months following moves by Twitter and other sites to block the former president after the Jan. 6 riot where his supporters stormed the Capitol.

Former Trump adviser Steve Bannon on Sunday described GETTR as "the Twitter killer" in a post on the new site.

Trump was permanently banned from Twitter and remains suspended by Facebook until at least 2023 and by Alphabet's YouTube until the company determines the risk of violence has decreased.

Also Read | 'No pride in banning Donald Trump': Twitter CEO warns of dangerous precedent

Miller told Fox News earlier this week he hoped Trump would join but that the former president was considering a number ofoptions. He said Trump was not funding the platform.

0 / 0
Sign in to unlock member-only benefits!
  • Access 10 free stories every month
  • Save stories to read later
  • Access to comment on every story
  • Sign-up/manage your newsletter subscriptions with a single click
  • Get notified by email for early access to discounts & offers on our products
Sign in

Comments

Comments have to be in English, and in full sentences. They cannot be abusive or personal. Please abide by our community guidelines for posting your comments.

We have migrated to a new commenting platform. If you are already a registered user of The Hindu and logged in, you may continue to engage with our articles. If you do not have an account please register and login to post comments. Users can access their older comments by logging into their accounts on Vuukle.