You wonder what crossed the minds of the hackers, who broke into Sony Music Global and Bob Dylan’s Twitter accounts on Monday, with the sole intent of claiming (falsely) Britney Spears had died.
Many fans awoke on Monday to tweets from both accounts claiming the 35-year-old Spears had passed away.
“RIP @britneyspears #RIPBritney 1981-2016,” read one quickly deleted tweet on the Sony Music account, while “Britney spears is dead by accident! We will tell you more soon #RIPBritney” was added thereafter.
Presumably believing they needed a celebrity account to corroborate the story, the hackers chose the official account of one Bob Dylan’s website.
A short-lived tweet from the account read: “Rest in peace @britneyspears”.
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Sony confirmed on Monday afternoon the account had been “compromised.”
In a statement, the company said: “This has been rectified. Sony Music apologizes to Britney Spears and her fans for any confusion.”
Spears’ manager also confirmed “Britney is fine and well.”
The hack came shortly after news of fellow musician George Michael’s actual passing was broken.
Given the number of legendary artists passing this year in the so-called “Curse of 2016,” it’s little surprise some fans were duped.
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Only five days to go, folks. How are you commemorating the end of 2016? Share your thoughts below.
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Editorial independence
Editorial independence means being able to give an unbiased verdict about a product or company, with the avoidance of conflicts of interest. To ensure this is possible, every member of the editorial staff follows a clear code of conduct.
Professional conduct
We also expect our journalists to follow clear ethical standards in their work. Our staff members must strive for honesty and accuracy in everything they do. We follow the IPSO Editors’ code of practice to underpin these standards.