Bizarre fake news swamps Minnesota tourism FB page after hack
The official Facebook page of Minnesota tourism confirmed a hack last week which saw it flooded with a series of bizarre fake news stories.
Explore Minnesota said it regained control of the site and has boosted security.
Bizarre, attention grabbing headlines began appearing on the site last week such as ‘Woman arrested for training squirrels to attack her ex-boyfriend’ and a story about a death row inmate who ate an entire Bible for his last meal.
Another click-bait worthy headline said: ‘DNA tests prove retired postman has over 1,300 illegitimate children.’
The tourism agency’s spokeswoman Alyssa Hayes said the hacker was identified and it removed their access to the page after nearly a full day of crackpot yet entertaining posts.
The agency website, Twitter and Instagram accounts were not affected, Hayes said.
It turned out to be a random hacker and not someone who previously worked for the agency.
The Explore Minnesota Facebook page boasts more than 200,000 fans.
TravelMole Editorial Team
Editor for TravelMole North America and Asia pacific regions. Ray is a highly experienced (15+ years) skilled journalist and editor predominantly in travel, hospitality and lifestyle working with a huge number of major market-leading brands. He has also cover in-depth news, interviews and features in general business, finance, tech and geopolitical issues for a select few major news outlets and publishers.
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