Hackers hit Reuters, post fake blog on Syria

 JournalismPakistan.com |  Published: 4 August 2012

Hackers compromised Reuters' blogging platform, posting false narratives attributed to its journalists. The posts included a fabricated interview with a Syrian rebel leader.

Summary

Hackers took over the blogging platform of the Reuters news agency and posted "fabricated" stories said to include an interview with a Syrian rebel leader, the company said Friday. "Reuters.com was a target of a hack on Friday," said a statement from parent firm Thomson Reuters. "Our blogging platform was compromised and fabricated blog posts were falsely attributed to several Reuters journalists." Among the fake postings was a purported interview with the head of the Free Syrian Army, who was quoted as saying that rebel forces were pulling back after clashes in the city of Aleppo. Reuters said it did not carry out that interview, that the posting has been deleted and that the blogging platform was taken offline as it addresses the problem. Syrian opposition fighters told a news conference Friday in Iraq they would not withdraw from Aleppo, the northern city which has been under attack by regime forces. - AFP

KEY POINTS:

• Hackers took over Reuters' blogging platform.
• Fabricated posts were attributed to Reuters journalists.
• Included a fake interview with a Free Syrian Army leader.
• The fake posts have been deleted and the platform taken offline.
• Syrian opposition stated they will not withdraw from Aleppo.