BBC Twitter Accounts Hacked By Pro-Assad Syrian Electronic Army

DavidGilbert99 writes "Following BBC Weather on Twitter seems like it wouldn't throw up too many surprises — possibly news of the odd blizzard now and again. But today, the account's 60,000 followers got a little more than 'chance of a light drizzle' when the pro-Assad Syrian Electronic Army hacked the account, along with a couple of other BBC accounts, in an apparent protest at what it sees as reports which don't show the Syrian regime in the best light." Also at the BBC itself.

Comments

Assad

[Citizen of Earth]

What's not to love about a genocidal dictator? He's just misunderstood.

Re:Assad

[Richard_at_work]

I think one of the main issues in this media conflict is that the general overall view being put over is one of "Assad" vs "The opposition fighters", with a lot of western media glossing over the fact that most of the opposition fighters are no better than Assad. Assad is not someone I would ever wish to support, but the same goes for the vast majority of those who are fighting his regime at the moment - it really is "the lesser of two evils", and somewhat of a decision no one ever would want to make.

Re:Assad

[Anonymous Coward]

"Genocidal"? Evidence please.

I know this is hard for you Americans to understand, but this guy isn't Saddam. In fact he's a Western-educated opthamologist who worked in a London hospital until the death of his older brother forced him to give up his career and return to Syria to become President. His efforts to liberalise Syrian politics have been rewarded by a Western-backed insurgency, which you have been manipulated into supporting.

Every day you will see another story making the case for war in Syria. Yesterday, Assad used chemical weapons (against his own soldiers....). Today Assad hacked the BBC (again, against his own interest). Who knows what he will do tomorrow? Perhaps he will find some Weapons of Mass Destruction that can be launched in under 45 minutes? Maybe he will be Linked To Al Quaeda? Such fun. Such fun.

Re:Assad

[g8oz]

Lets see what Human Rights Watch has to say:

• 
  In Cold Blood:
  Summary Executions by Syrian Security Forces and Pro-Government Militias
• 
  Torture Archipelago
  Arbitrary Arrests, Torture, and Enforced Disappearances in Syria;s Underground Prisons since March 2011
• 
  Syria: Mounting Casualties from Cluster Munitions
• 
  We've Never Seen Such Horror:
  Crimes against Humanity by Syrian Security Forces

Hacking is the great equalizer

[concealment]

I don't know what the truth of the situation is in Syria, but I know that:

(a) Western media seems to present a similar point of view no matter which source you're watching/reading

(b) Western governments seem to agree with the media

(c) There are few opposing voices in government or media

For this reason, it means that anyone with a contrary viewpoint is facing a giant media bloc composed of the most powerful governments and media producers in history.

Hacking is an equalizer. With relatively few people, and relatively low investment, it allows hackers to use the notoriety of the hack to present their point of view.

Re:Hacking is the great equalizer

[tokencode]

Or the other possibility is that what is being said in western media is mostly the truth. Al-Jazeera is hardly the "Western Media" and confirms most of the reports shown in western media regarding Syria, Ass-ad (I presume this translates to "head ass") is just getting desperate.

Re:Hacking is the great equalizer

[Looker_Device]

Al-Jazeera is hardly the "Western Media"

No, but they are generally pretty pro-radical Islam, and most of the Arab Spring rebels to date (incl. those in Syria) seem to be way more interested in instituting Sharia and putting Muslim Brotherhood politicians in power than in establishing pro-Western democracies or giving people more freedom.

Re:Hacking is the great equalizer

[i kan reed]

I've tried watching RT's coverage of things, and if you thing Western media is biased, you ain't seen nothing yet. They called the uprising against (unelected) president Assad an anti-democratic rebellion payed for by the U.S. over a year ago.

And during the presidential election(after the primaries), they treated Ron Paul as a front-running candidate. It was bizarre. Beyond bizarre.

Watching Al Jazeera or BBC gives you a clear sense of a non-american perspective on things, some bias but on the whole attempting to report honestly, but RT is like Cold War era Pravda in video form.

Re:Hacking is the great equalizer

[NeutronCowboy]

RT IS the new version of Pravda. It's the officially sanctioned russian TV channel. As such, it provides great insight into how the Russian government is looking at the world. This also means though that it is a terrible source of news for anything that doesn't match the Kremlin's narrative, either inside or outside of Russia. I always laugh when I hear some people recommend RT as a great news alternative to something like CNN or New York Times.

Re:Hacking is the great equalizer

[Chris Mattern]

Which just turns the question around the other way. If the anti-Assad rebels are radical Islam and anti-western, why would the western powers be pursuing a defamation campaign against Assad?

Re:Hacking is the great equalizer

[Nemyst]

Alternatively, hacking what is largely considered to be a reputable news organization is going to make you look like a bunch of dicks.

Re:Hacking is the great equalizer

[interkin3tic]

If this is the government paying to push its propaganda, and the rebels (terrorists if you sympathize with the government) don't, then that's not equalizing. That's yet another media form being dominated by money and power, and smaller voices drowned out.

Re:Hacking is the great equalizer

[g8oz]

Its more accurate to say they share a common ancestor. They've got quite a bit of distance between them now. To ignore that is a way of making a (weak) argument.

And with movements methods become ideology. The Brotherhood are political players and are evolving towards the being able to cope with the realities of power, compromise etc. Yes albeit with an authoritarian bent.

So your conclusion is unnecessarily hyperbolic.

Re:Hacking is the great equalizer

[shutdown -p now]

Jabhat al-Nusra, which is the most prominent Islamist faction among the rebels today, is specifically affiliated with al-Qaeda, not Muslim Brotherhood. And they are Salafi.

Seriously?

[coniferous]

>in an apparent protest at what it sees as reports which don't show the Syrian regime in the best light

Yes, because hacking people makes you look that much better. /s

Re:Seriously?

[i kan reed]

Also, if Assad wanted balanced coverage, maybe he should have let reporters into the country to cover things. Stonewalling and only providing "official reports" makes it look like you have something to hide.

Re:Oh sure...

[i kan reed]

Yeah, even clever twitter hacks that post satire of the kind of thing the original account posts doesn't sway those already in agreement with it. This blandly shouting about how wrong the BBC is is just boring. It's a phone call to twitter HQ and a password reset away from being resolved too.

Not in the best light?

[Nidi62]

You want to be shown in a better light? How about you stop murdering civilians, oppressing those that don't support you (pretty much anyone outside your sect/tribe), or using chemical weapons. If you don't do bad things, then the BBC won't report on you doing bad things.

Re:Not in the best light?

[DarthBling]

For a second there, I though you were talking about the US.

No. The cat doesn't have my tongue.

[Zero__Kelvin]

"A series of tweets about fake weather conditions in Middle Eastern countries began appearing on Thursday afternoon."

It seems like they must have hacked my Weather Channel app quite some time ago, too.