Fake AP tweet briefly sends markets plunging

The Associated Press’s Twitter account was hacked yesterday when a fake tweet about an attack on the White House was posted, sending markets plunging temporarily.

The fake tweet, posted at 1.05pm, read: “Breaking: Two Explosions in the White House and Barack Obama is injured”.

Once the AP figured out that its account had been hacked it suspended it.

It released a statement at 1.12pm saying: “The (at)AP twitter account has been hacked. The tweet about an attack at the White House is false. We will advise more as soon as possible.”

It used its Facebook page to ask tweeters not to respond to news posted on Twitter in the previous 20 minutes.

The Dow Jones industrial average fell more than 150 points after the fake posting, then quickly recovered. Other markets also reacted to the fake posting.

The price of crude oil fell, then rose back.

The yield on the benchmark US government bond, the 10-year Treasury note, briefly dropped as traders shifted money into low-risk investments.

The turmoil lasted for about five minutes. By about 1.13pm, stocks, bonds and crude oil were all trading about where they were before the fake tweet was posted.

The Associated Press is the latest big name Twitter account to be hacked recently.

North Korea’s account was hacked earlier this month when a picture of leader Kim Jong Un on a wanted poster was posted.

Multiple news organisations and reporters have also been hit by hackers, including CBS News earlier this week.