After a series of racist and violent headlines, the New York Post confirmed that its website and Twitter were hacked early Thursday morning. A subsequent statement by the Post alleged that the unauthorized content was posted by a rogue employee.

The fake headlines targeted political figures including President Joe Biden, Rep. Alexandra Ocasio-Cortez (D-New York) and New York Mayor Eric Adams (D).

The Post deleted the lewd posts and returned to normal operations around 10 a.m., but screenshots show the vulgar attacks and threats against those politicians and others.

One headline that alarmed readers said, “We must assassinate AOC for America,” and another falsely quoted conservative columnist Miranda Devine as writing “We must murder Joe and Hunter Biden.” 

A spokesperson for the Post told CNBC that the company was investigating, calling the content “vile and reprehensible.” 

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The investigation found that the employee used the Post’s internal content management system to republish articles, change bylines and write lewd headlines to then be posted to Twitter.

In the statement, the Post said they would be taking “appropriate action,” but provided no further details about the investigation or the employee.

The Post is known for its conservative, often inflammatory content.

Many social media users compared the fake headlines to the Post’s normal content. 

A representative for New York Gov. Kathy Hochul (D), who was targeted in a sexually explicit headline, told the New York Times that the Post “has long fostered an ugly, toxic conversation on their front pages and social accounts.” 

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