Pro-Trump social media app briefly hacked hours after launch

Gettr, a new social media site launched by allies of former President Trump, was briefly hacked on Sunday when it first went online.

“The problem was detected and sealed in a matter of minutes, and all the intruder was able to accomplish was to change a few user names,” Jason Miller, the site’s founder and Trump’s former spokesperson, said in a statement to Reuters.

The usernames for accounts belonging to prominent figures like former Secretary of State Mike Pompeo and Miller were changed to read, “JubaBaghdad was here, follow me in twitter :),” as seen in screenshots shared by Salon writer Zachary Petrizzo.

Jason Miller’s new right-wing social media site “Gettr” was hacked this morning. pic.twitter.com/cncddw9RZ9

— Zachary Petrizzo (@ZTPetrizzo) July 4, 2021

A Twitter account belonging to the username appeared to acknowledge the hacking, retweeting Petrizzo’s screenshots of the hack. The account’s description read, “We work in the darkness, but serve the light.”

Gettr was announced last week and was billed as a “non-bias social network.” The site largely operates similarly to Twitter, which was Trump’s preferred social media platform before he was banned following the deadly Jan. 6 Capitol riot.

It is currently unclear whether Trump will join the new platform. Reuters notes that Miller said on Fox News that he hoped the former president would join, but that Trump was considering many options. Trump previously launched an online blog to share messages. However, this site was permanently shut down in early June, reportedly due to its underwhelming traffic.