In a shocking turn of events, Donald Trump Jr.’s X account, on the platform formerly known as Twitter, was compromised, leading to a flurry of unusual and erratic posts. The incident unfolded as a spokesman for former President Donald Trump, Andrew Surabian, confirmed the hack and vehemently denied false claims of the former president’s death.
Among the alarming posts shared during the breach, the compromised account falsely announced Donald Trump Sr.’s demise and suggested that Trump Jr. would be running for president himself. These posts rapidly gained traction, with over 1,000 shares and hundreds of thousands of views in just minutes.
In a concerning development, another post from the hacked account appeared to threaten North Korea, while a pinned post employed a racist epithet to insult President Joe Biden. Thankfully, these disturbing posts were swiftly removed, but the incident has ignited questions about X’s ability to secure user accounts, especially those belonging to prominent political figures, as the platform gears up for the 2024 elections.
This incident underscores the urgency for X to bolster its security measures, given its history of high-profile hacks. The platform recently announced plans to strengthen its safety and election teams after significant layoffs in the previous year, which saw an 80% reduction in its workforce under owner Elon Musk’s leadership. Moreover, the Federal Trade Commission is currently investigating X for its handling of user privacy and potential violations of commitments made in 2011 to secure the platform.
X’s response to this security breach will be closely watched, as it grapples with the critical responsibility of safeguarding user accounts, particularly in the midst of important political events.
