A screenshot of the All India Trinamool Congress Twitter account on February 28 morning.
The official Twitter account of the All India Trinamool Congress (@AITCofficial) appears to be hacked as of February 28 morning. The name of the account reflected “Yuga Labs” and its display picture was changed to the company’s logo.
Yuga Labs is a U.S.-based blockchain company working with NFT that started in 2021.
The last three posts by the account posted 12 hours ago reference the party’s welfare schemes. “#DidirSurakshaKawach is a mammoth effort at securing basic sustenance for every resident in Bengal, irrespective of age, gender, caste or religion. To achieve state-wide inclusive growth & expand welfare cover, Didir Doots are generating awareness across households,” read the last tweet.
There appear to be no posts from external users as yet.
TMC national spokesperson Derek O’Brien confirmed the account was compromised and Twitter authorities are investigating the incident, reported PTI. “The official Twitter handle of the All India Trinamool Congress has been compromised,” he said. “We are in touch with officials from Twitter who are working to rectify the issue. They have assured us of prompt action.”
This is not the first instance a government party’s account was reportedly compromised to reflect a cryptocurrency identity. Last year, the official Twitter account of YSR Congress was hacked, where the bio was changed to reflect “NFT millionaire” and the display picture was changed to one from the Bored Ape Yacht Club (BAYC) collection — an NFT collection.
In April 2022, after Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister’s Office’s account was hacked, the display picture replaced Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath’s photo to show a still from the BAYC collection.