In a bizarre turn of events, Donald Trump Jr., the son of former President Donald Trump , fell victim to a hack on his X account (formerly known as Twitter). Early on Wednesday, September 20, morning, a series of outlandish and false messages were posted from his account, including a claim that his father had passed away and that he would be running for president in 2024. Hilarity ensued as his tweets made bizarre claims and became the laughing stock of the internet as people realized the account had been hacked after the initial shock.
According to NY Post the series of posts, which caused quite a stir on social media, included messages like “I’m sad to announce, my father Donald Trump has passed away. I will be running for president in 2024” and “This just in: North Korea is about to get smoked.” These tweets were not only false but also highly inflammatory. The perpetrator also posted messages referring to Jeffrey Epstein, a controversial figure linked to high-profile individuals, and even took a crude and offensive swipe at Logan Paul, a well-known internet personality.
The hacking incident unfolded around 8:25 a.m., and it took approximately half an hour for Twitter to remove the false messages and seemingly restore control of Donald Trump Jr.’s account. Andrew Surabian, spokesman for Donald Trump tweeted at 5:59 p.m. saying, “FYI: This is obviously not true. Don’s account has been hacked.” People took the opportunity and remarked with witty comments in the thread of Surabian’s tweet. User @ liteburd remarked, “A large part of Donald Trump’s indictments and the indictments of folks who served or supported him is their conduct on social media and the messages they shared. Will the person who hacked Don Jr. account be prosecuted for political interference and sharing disinformation?”
FYI: This is obviously not true. Don’s account has been hacked. https://t.co/2ulyCPqhDx
— Andrew Surabian (@Surabees) September 20, 2023
Another user @ Skabz raised their concern commenting, “Who hacks an account yet is still too timid to spell words” as they shared an image of the deleted post claiming that it was indeed the original post of Trump Jr.’s account. Just this week, Tesla CEO Elon Musk, who owns the platform X, suggested that users might be charged a small monthly fee to access the service in an effort to combat fake accounts and bots. Musk argued that this fee would be an effective way to mitigate the impact of automated accounts spreading misinformation.
😂wow I thought he went on a bender there for a minute
— Laura M (@Girl25Cali) September 20, 2023
In the midst of these events, former President Donald Trump made an appearance on Meet the Press. He engaged in a pre-taped interview with the show’s new host, Kristen Welker. As hacking incidents and concerns over fake news continue to make headlines, the need for enhanced online security and measures to combat misinformation becomes increasingly evident. Especially in the digital age when such posts hold strong gravity to bend the views of netizens instantaneously.