- The New York Post's website was hacked Thursday morning, the company confirmed.
- Violent and racist headlines were posted to the tabloid's website and shared on Twitter.
The New York Post's website was hacked by one of its own staff on Thursday, the tabloid confirmed after a series of violent and racist headlines were posted.
"The New York Post's investigation indicates that the unauthorized conduct was committed by an employee, and the employee has been terminated," a representative for the Post told Insider. "This morning, we immediately removed the vile and reprehensible content from our website and social media accounts."
One post shared on Twitter read: "We must assassinate AOC for America," referring to Democratic Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez.
Another headline from the website claimed Texas Gov. Greg Abbott would start "slaughtering illegals" on the southern border.
Other posts on the company's website made violent and racist remarks directed at New York City Mayor Eric Adams and New York Gov. Kathy Hochul, linking the fake, vulgar headlines to GOP candidate for New York governor Lee Zeldin.
"The New York Post has been hacked. We are currently investigating the cause," a representative for the Post told Insider. The Post's tweet about being hacked received over 3,000 likes and 1,200 retweets in less than 30 minutes, while multiple hashtags about the outlet trended on Twitter.
The New York Post has been the target of hacks before
The Post was hacked in a similar manner at least twice before. In 2017 on April Fool's Day, the tabloid said its app was hacked after it sent out a wave of push notifications including "Heil President Donald Trump" and "Hear me now, for I speak as an angel in the words of God." The company quickly released an apology post about the incident.
The Post's official Twitter account was also reportedly hacked in 2015 to send out fake posts about economic and military topics.
The Post's parent company, News Corp, was reportedly hacked in a wider effort earlier this year that targeted journalists' emails from multiple companies, including the Post. News Corp and its assets are owned by the media giant Rupert Murdoch.
The Post did not release the name of the employee it suspects created and uploaded the posts, butconfirmed to Insider on Thursday afternoon that the staffer had been fired.
This story is developing. Please check back for updates.