The jokesters at the Onion had a joke pulled on them this time around…or at least that’s what it seems like.
After a myriad of Syria-themed and anti-Semitic tweets came out of the Onion’s twitter account, suspicions began to surge that the Syrian Electronic Army hacked the into satirical news organization’s page.
The SEA has since claimed responsibility for the posts and all tweets have been deleted.
Picture posted by the Onion after being hacked
According to E-Hacking news, the SEA (Syrian Electronic Army) provided a screenshot that showed the pro-Assad hackers gained access to the four of the Onion’s twitter accounts including @theonion, @OnionSports, @onionpolitics, @onionstroe and the @TheAVClub.
The unfunny tweets clearly attacked Israel, Obama and rebel groups.
The SEA has successfully hacked into the Twitter accounts of some of the most important world news agencies including CBS, BBC, NPR — and the infamous AP tweet that plummeted the stock market after falsely informing its 1.9 million followers President Obama had been injured following a bomb attack in the White House.
This weekend, the SEA hacked into E! News’ Twitter and sent out a tweet that claimed that Justin Bieber was “gay”.
A source in the high profile “hacktivist” group Anonymous, told Heavy.com that they believe the SEA is affiliated with the Syrian government. Other sources have also stated that the organization operates with at least the tacit support of the government.
Meanwhile, Onion fans all over the world looked to their screens today with confusion. Questions surged through Twitter: Was this supposed to be a well-tailored piece of satire? Or was it an actual hack?
The Onion has published some controversial and provocative articles on the humanitarian crisis in Syria. One of them included a faux letter written by President al-Assad titled, “Hi, In The Past 2 Years, You Have Allowed Me To Kill 70,000 People”
The Onion has since retaliated with the following story:
Onion Twitter Password Changed To OnionMan77 | ‘That Ought To Do It,’ Company Sources Confirm onion.com/10CAZYc
— The Onion (@TheOnion) May 6, 2013