New York Post Says Tweet Calling for AOC’s Assassination Was the Result of a Hack [UPDATE]

It’s not at all clear what happened here. From the Post’s statement, we don’t know whether the company itself was hacked or whether it was merely the paper’s social account that was compromised. Actually, the company may not have been hacked at all: CNN media reporter Oliver Darcy tweeted late Thursday morning that a “source familiar with the matter” had told him that the incident “was due to the actions of a rogue employee.” Sooo…what does that mean? Disgruntled intern? A journo who decided to go apeshit in the CMS? Honestly, we have no idea.

It’s the second media company to send offensive alerts in recent months. In September, Fast Company was the victim of a hack that saw its Apple News account send out racist push alerts. The media outlet’s leaders shut down the site entirely as they investigated, reviving it several days later.

Gizmodo reached out to the Post for comment and additional details and will update this story if they respond.

UPDATE, 1:20 p.m. EST: In a statement provided to Gizmodo, the Post revealed that Thursday’s incident was the result of “unauthorized conduct” by an employee. The employee has now been fired, the paper said. The full statement reads: “The New York Post’s investigation indicates that the unauthorized conduct was committed by an employee, and the employee has been terminated. This morning, we immediately removed the vile and reprehensible content from our website and social media accounts.”