Hackers on Sunday broke into the Twitter feed of U.S. network Fox News and posted six messages falsely reporting the death of U.S. President Barack Obama.
Fox News released a statement on Monday saying the reports were "false" and "malicious" and apologizing for any distress they caused. The feed was suspended after the hacking became apparent, and Fox says it has asked the Twitter company to investigate.
The tweets began in the early-morning hours of Sunday, reporting that Mr. Obama had been shot twice while campaigning at a restaurant in the state of Iowa. But Fox later confirmed that Mr. Obama is spending the U.S. Independence Day holiday in Washington, D.C. as scheduled.
Some reports link the incident to an anonymous hacking group called Script Kiddies. A spokesman for the Secret Service, the U.S. law-enforcement agency responsible for guarding the president and vice-president, among others, refused to comment.