The employee managed to post at least seven tweets of fake stories before getting found out. The fake stories included made-up quotes from various politicians, including New York Republican gubernatorial candidate Lee Zeldin and New Jersey Republican House candidate Frank Pallotta, and Texas Governor Greg Abbott, as well as conservative activist Christopher Rufo and Post journalist Miranda Devine.
The fake story passed off as Devine’s called for killing US President Joe Biden and his son, Hunter Biden, about whose “laptop from hell” Devine has written a book. Another, seeming to be an imagined op-ed, simply said that “We must assassinate AOC for America.”
The democratic socialist politician has received multiple death threats, including during the January 6, 2021, insurrection at the US Capitol by supporters of US President Donald Trump.
Initial reports suggested the Post’s account had been hacked, as has happened to many other unfortunate verified accounts. However, after a short investigation, the paper announced it had fired an employee for the incident.
“The New York Post’s investigation indicates that the unauthorized conduct was committed by an employee, and we are taking appropriate action,” the paper said in a statement. “This morning, we immediately removed the vile and reprehensible content from our website and social media accounts.”