- At about 2 p.m. eastern today, a bunch of prominent Twitter accounts tweeted the same weird thing all at once.
- People were confused.
- Anyone know what is causing this to happen? RT @MatthewKeysLive: Twitter accounts @ZDNet @OnEarthMag also hit by weird "f gwenifill" message
http://twitter.com/MattNavarraUK/status/423170758479974400
— Matt Navarra (@MattNavarraUK)Tue, Jan 14 2014 19:12:25 - No idea what the "f Gwen Ifill" messages are about. Certainly not generated by anyone here. Apologies for any confusion.
http://twitter.com/AnneBell/status/423170941653237760
— Anne Bell (@AnneBell)Tue, Jan 14 2014 19:13:09 - Some made jokes.
- Poynter. Now in Welsh. RT @Poynter: f gwenifill
http://twitter.com/markham/status/423168236125827072
— Markham Nolan (@markham)Tue, Jan 14 2014 19:02:24 - If you type “f gwenifill” three times in front of a mirror
http://twitter.com/BrettLoGiurato/status/423170904059674624
— Brett LoGiurato (@BrettLoGiurato)Tue, Jan 14 2014 19:13:00 http://twitter.com/PykeA/status/423170921914843136
— Alan Pyke (@PykeA)Tue, Jan 14 2014 19:13:04- Affected outlets apologized for the "hack."
- Sorry for that last tweet everyone (especially @gwenifill!), there was a bit of Twitter hacking going on...
http://twitter.com/OnEarthMag/status/423179057782870016
— OnEarth Magazine (@OnEarthMag)Tue, Jan 14 2014 19:45:24 - Yep, that weird tweet seems to have come from someone accessing Poynter’s account without authorization. More as we know it.
http://twitter.com/Poynter/status/423172253635710977
— Poynter (@Poynter)Tue, Jan 14 2014 19:18:22 - Clues trickled in.
- (In the beginning days of Twitter 'f username' would follow an account. We like @gwenifill. A lot.)
http://twitter.com/Newsweek/status/423171131953401856
— Newsweek (@Newsweek)Tue, Jan 14 2014 19:13:54 - Kate Gardiner, a digital media strategist who has worked with PBS Newshour and Newsweek, among others, stepped forward to say it was her Tweetdeck that had been hacked.
- Folks MY TWEETDECK was hacked. Fixing.
http://twitter.com/KateGardiner/status/423169843878457345
— Kate Gardiner (@KateGardiner)Tue, Jan 14 2014 19:08:47 - Mystery solved, right?
- Source of "f gwenifill" issue: Newsweek digital strategist @KateGardiner, who had access to client accounts, claims her TweetDeck was hacked
http://twitter.com/MatthewKeysLive/status/423171081487142912
— Matthew Keys (@MatthewKeysLive)Tue, Jan 14 2014 19:13:42 - But wait, how did she have access to so many different prominent accounts?
- @KateGardiner How many accounts do you tweet from?
http://twitter.com/WillOremus/status/423172647912882176
— Will Oremus (@WillOremus)Tue, Jan 14 2014 19:19:56 - @WillOremus only a couple. Had a bunch of old logins / friends' accounts / spoofs /etc.
http://twitter.com/KateGardiner/status/423172967196274688
— Kate Gardiner (@KateGardiner)Tue, Jan 14 2014 19:21:12 - @moneyries I don't run all that many. Tweetdeck leaves keys in even after you leave the accounts / change the PWs. @DylanByers @Megan
http://twitter.com/KateGardiner/status/423173668827824128
— Kate Gardiner (@KateGardiner)Tue, Jan 14 2014 19:23:59 - @MatthewKeysLive I had keys to all sorts of accounts from audits, all sorts of things. @Poynter
http://twitter.com/KateGardiner/status/423175087634644992
— Kate Gardiner (@KateGardiner)Tue, Jan 14 2014 19:29:37 - Well that is alarming.One question still unanswered: Who hacked Kate Gardiner's account in the first place, and what did they have against Gwen Ifill?
- @KateGardiner how did they do it?
http://twitter.com/katecrawford/status/423173416816898048
— Kate Crawford (@katecrawford)Tue, Jan 14 2014 19:22:59