Top YouTubers across Twitter have had their accounts compromised, after a hacker posted multiple offensive messages across the profiles of such stars as James Charles, Shane Dawson, and more.
The hack began around noon on August 24, with fans shocked after James Charles’ account spewed seemingly random, offensive, and sexually explicit Tweets with a Discord link attached.
That’s not all: the hacker even appeared to praise infamous serial killer Ted Bundy, posting a picture of the mass murderer with the caption, “Ted Bundy aka our hero.”
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Charles’ Twitter account has since lost its verified status in wake of the hack, likely due to the attack: but he isn’t the only YouTuber suffering from the incident.
Top YouTuber Shane Dawson was likewise hit by the hacker the day prior, who posted similar messages to the star’s Twitter account, retweeting anti-Semetic messages that sympathized with Nazi Germany among other shocking statements.
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As if that wasn’t low enough, the hacker also took control of late YouTuber Daniel Desmond “Etika” Amofah’s Twitter account, outraging fans with such messages as, “Shoutout to the people who tried saving me… it meant a lot.”
All of the hacker’s Tweets share a common theme, with the malicious user repeating the word “chuckling” and posting a Discord link at the top of each profile.
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The person who hacked Etika’s account is deleting the tweets I think. Here they are just in case they did. pic.twitter.com/oM7NvLMcdq
— FusionAnimations (@BFDIA_Master) August 24, 2019
The hacker doesn’t seem to be finished in their quest, either: the user called out Drama Alert’s KEEMSTAR in multiple posts, and claimed that they are “coming for everyone, so be prepared and support the trend.”
While no exact cause for the hack has been verified, KEEMSTAR claims that the scandal is the responsibility of AT&T, accusing the company of “allowing hackers to call in and SIM card switch over big celebrity accounts.”
Yeah @ATT is looking at a major lawsuit for allowing hackers to call in and SIM card switch over big celebrity account! @KingBach @AmandaCerny @Etika @shanedawson
& now @jamescharles all hacked due to ATT human error ! New #DramaAlert today explaining!
— KEEM :popcorn: (@KEEMSTAR) August 24, 2019
With names like Vine star King Bach and YouTuber Amanda Cerny likewise being targeted, this marks one of the most widespread high-profile hackings in the internet entertainment space thus far.
King Bach himself called out AT&T in a video on August 23, calling the company’s security “trash” and claiming that an employee switched his SIM card.
Dear @ATT … pic.twitter.com/7PdnqaU9ep
— King Bach (@KingBach) August 24, 2019
Other YouTubers involved in the scandal have yet to speak out on the subject at the time of writing.