Sony Music tweets ‘Britney Spears is dead’ after Twitter account is hacked

Sony Music has apologised to Britney Spears and fans after its Twitter account was hacked and a fake tweet said the pop icon was dead. The singer’s record label said its social media account was “compromised” but that the situation “has been rectified”. The company said it “apologises to Britney Spears and her fans for any confusion”. The 35-year-old Grammy Award winner “is fine and well,” Spears’ manager Adam Leber told CNN. In the first of several false tweets on Monday, the company’s Twitter account published a short message reading “RIP @britneyspears” and “#RIPBritney1981-2016”.

#RIPBritney1981-2016.

Sony Music false Tweet

The message was accompanied by a teary-eyed emoji, Variety and Billboard magazines reported. The fake tweets were soon removed. In some tweets, the group OurMine took responsibility, Billboard reported. The Twitter account of folk music icon Bob Dylan may also have been subjected to a hoax, Billboard said. Dylan’s account sent out a now-deleted tweet reading “Rest in peace @britneyspears.” The Sony spokeswoman confirmed that Dylan is also a Sony artist and that the company’s statement “holds true for what’s happened”. Another unit of Sony, Sony Pictures Entertainment, was the victim of a devastating cyber attack in November 2014.

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