I think it’s safe to assume their Twitter account has been hacked.
Update: Yep. Now suspended.
Update 2: MSNBC is now saying that the account was never in their control in the first place. It was previously sending out MSNBC headlines, but then today went off the deep end, obviously. So I guess this is a lesson in controlling your online brand.
This is really bad! Time for Twitter to up their security.
and so it begins. Why is this a problem with Twitter? Please, go ahead and explain why this is a problem with Twitter.
Exactly. Someone getting their password taken isn’t exactly something that Twitter (or Google, or Facebook, etc.) can really do much about.
there have been DM hacks all week. i’m guessign this was a benign rogue that got taken over and that’s when the french started flying.
Step 1 would be to enable CAPTCHAs after 5 (or so) invalid login attempts. As far as I can tell, there’s nothing in place right now to thwart brute-force login attempts.
You sir are an idiot as anyone attempting to bruteforce a online password is an idiot and you have no idea of what bruteforcing is or have no idea how long it takes.
time for MSN to up their password!
Fascists don’t hack.
Probably a social-engineering/internal security thing rather than a problem at Twitter.
Better this than showing the Muslim terrorist from Ft Hood wearing traditional Muslim prayer clothing and the MSNBS guys refer to this as “traditional middle eastern clothes”. Apologetic-”liberals” are no less dangerous than fascists.
Uhmm.. Those clothings ARE actually traditional middle eastern clothes. The christians in middle east wear them too. Get your facts straight before start typing.
Funny. ;)
nicely done.
it was fun while it lasted.. :-P
Too bad, this may have been the competitive edge MSNBC has been looking for.
Lets hope this never happens to @breakingnews, all those swears would be in CAPS
ha.
MG, seriously. you had to put full-res *screenshots* here?
What’s next? photos-of-printouts-on-wooden-tables?
I’d say lets hope this never happens to @barackobama :-)
:)
Wait, that’s not funny.
:(
But that is! :D
For the lulz.
That garbage “Suspended” Snapshots link at the top of the article is throwing twitter API errors…can TC get rid of SnapShots already??
It’s never safe to assume anything. :) This account was not hacked. It was never associated with MSNBC or msnbc.com to begin with.
Well, to be honest, it’s not like they were swimming in followers.
http://twitterc.../msnbcheadlines
3K for a news network is paltry.
It’s not an official msnbc account.
It’s not like MSNBC is swimming in ratings either… ;)
+1
NSFW? I was expecting a Paul Carr post.
yeah paul and i collaborated on this one.
The ironic part is that while the problem is actually with Twitter somebody tried to make their initial statement against CNBC with a statement, that while slightly vulgar, is actually completely factually accurate…
Im pretty sure that the problem lies with MSNBC’s staff and their liberal sense of security.
(Joke)
FWIW, that account was never msnbc’s.
I’m gonna come out and say it: 4Chan will save journalism
+ 1 … save= destroy and rebuild.
If they don’t get distracted by something shiny in the process…
it’s not an official msnbc twitter account for sure – check the official list at @msnbc page
Probably it was hacked – but the hacker hacked a fake msnbc twitter account
yep, interesting. talked to them, updated.
We all had a laugh at this before they took down the account. Thanks for getting screenshots!
You know what they say, pics or it didn’t happen!
I agree – Keith Olbermann is THE WORST PERSON IN THE WORLD!
Drat, I was hoping for something more NSFW
Isn’t that what MSNBC usually tweets?
Bravo ! some real guy pissed off at stupid MSNBC clowns
that could have been my new favorite tweeter…for now, that title is held by @fakecarolbartz
@fakecarolbartz FTW!
couldn’t agree more with those twitter posts! keep them coming ! :)
Why does the truth hurt so much. Finally truth is on its way in USA. Welcome to 2010 and 2012. NJ and Virginia Governers take note. The socialist marxist will be out soon of USA and become the same judio christian values founding fathers dreamed of
Founding fathers were atheists dumb cracker!
Wow, now we have racist comments. Where’s all the healing we’re supposed to have?
No, most of them were secular Christians. Franklin was a deist, but for the most part the country was founded on the ideas of the Renaissance, mostly from John Locke.
Did both of you fail 10th grade History?
Sorry for the mix up guys. Do I have any loyal TechCrunch fans?
no. none whatsoever
i agree with david. this is the best stuff to come out of MSNBC in years.
If there’s any lesson here, IMO it’s this … If you are a major brand, make the land grab on any new site, service or platform ASAP for any and all permutations on your brand name. Whether or not MSNBC was in “charge” of this account, the fact that they didn’t have the foresight to secure it shows that they have a bit to learn.
Those of us who live and breathe social media generally snare our names immediately when a new service launches, and we’re just individual “brands” … (aka average run of the mill shlubs) … Big brands (and Internet celebrities as well) take note, be forewarned and protect your name.
Sorry, but there are a theoretically infinite amount of permutations to grab if you really want to attempt to cover all bases (and you’ll always leave one ungrabbed). This is not the sort of problem that is solved by squatting 1000 different Twitter usernames (@msnbcfeed,@msnbctwitterfeed,@msnbcheadlines,@msnbc-headlines,@msnbc_headlines, and on and on forever). It’s solved by doing what Facebook does automatically: prohibits people from choosing usernames which contain registered trademarks and copyrights. Twitter is still working out how to avoid these sorts of things themselves via verified accounts and such, so I suspect we’ll see this sort of sideshow become less and less prevalent as time goes on.
+1 Typical techcrunch go for a crazy headline, then issue a correction to that changes the whole story.
So, these aren’t actual tweets from Olbermann and Maddow? How could anyone tell?
“The socialist marxist will be out soon of USA and become the same judio christian values founding fathers dreamed of”
Hopefully you can find some money for English classes in all your budget cuts.
Only socialists go to school. Real Republicans are homeschooled and inbred.
Hey idiot, the founding fathers were Deists, not Christians, keep dreaming.
I see what you mean by “off the deep end”.
I doubt anyone was ever stupid enough to believe “MSNBC operates as a television news”, though.
all those are hilarious, except the Hannity and Beck one, that one is just nasty.
I am PROUD to say that I am the progressive he is attacking in his tweets! I am likely the first person that noticed & noted to my followers that “something is off with the @MSNBCHeadlines account.” It was about 5 minutes after that tweet that his attacking on me, Rachel Maddow, Chris Matthews, & others began. I have since gained about 300 followers partly thanks to the dumbass that was on this account & you guys! Much appreciated!
NSFW?!?! Where’s the boobs?
Obama is fucking socialist
‘Bout time someone hacked into the big Lefty accounts and gave them a taste of their own medicine.
MSNBC has crappy ratings compared to FoxNews, by the way.
Twitter should check the password security or add new rating for password. Many of problem about disable password for long time ago since 2008
@Slayer – Fox “News” has crappy “facts” compared to reality, by the way.
Its really funny.
it’s hilarious right up until you get to the serious comments about how right the hacker is. and I’m pretty conservative. thanks for ruining the fun.
Looks like a FOX twitter stream.
Wow – this is the first time, perhaps in history, that MSNBC actually posted something truthful and newsworthy.
Haha I agree, finally some real news from msnbc… Usually they have their noses shoved so far up obama’s …. that you can’t hear anything useful, but still a good laugh.
What are you guys idiots.. THIS WASN’T A MSNBC account!
Jesus, get your shit straight before being a jackass.
maybe its not a real account, but sure the hell is telling the truth!!!!
That’s absolutely horrible! I hope twitter can find a way to prevent this from happening to frequently
Maybe MSNBC should do a story on Twitter. Learn more about it.
LMAO the comedy on media and networking mixed
CNN must be loving this
I have screen captures of the hacked site here:
http://digg.com...ount_was_hacked
@peachy – They are. They got their new site design launched and took the #1 spot this year from MSNBC. It’ll be a good Christmas party in Atlanta.
Stupid LOL :D
That is funny. Someone gets a chance to talk to thousands of people and they blow it by using the opportunity to demonstrate what an idiot they are.
Too bad they didn’t leave it – it may be the first time that anything associated with MSNBC wasn’t a load of BS.