US nuclear agency avers ‘cryptic’ tweet made by ‘very young child’
Image: Reuters/Kacper Pempel/Illustration
While netizens panicked over the US Strategic Command’s (USSTRATCOM) gibberish tweet out of fear that it had been hacked, the nuclear agency affirmed that it was only made by a child.
The now-deleted tweet on March 28 that read “;l;;gmlxzssaw” was posted by the kid of the agency’s Twitter manager, who was working from home, USSTRATCOM disclosed in a letter sent to The Daily Dot on March 29.
“The Command’s Twitter manager, while in telework status, momentarily left the Command’s Twitter account open and unattended. His very young child took advantage of the situation and started playing with the keys and unfortunately, and unknowingly, posted the tweet,” USSTRATCOM’s Kendall Cooper told the news outlet.
While the tweet has since been deleted, Twitter users initially speculated – and joked – that the Twitter page of the said US military agency was hacked or just sent out a secret message, or worse, a nuclear code.
STRAIGHT UP TWEETED THE NUKE LAUNCH CODE https://t.co/9I4lrR0yU7
— Saltti 🇫🇮 (@SalttiR6) March 28, 2021
US Strategic Command
manages nuclear weapons
explained that a cryptic tweet
was posted unknowingly
by a child
COMMENT:
Code went out shortly after
3 Russian subs popped up
through the Arctic ice
with their missile tubes open
this tweet was not child's playhttps://t.co/7cEZMxn0zl pic.twitter.com/rJoTC4H5Ij— StealthContact 🛸🔭 (@StealthContact) March 31, 2021
Enigmatic tweet from US Strategic Command sparks theories about possible nuclear launch code.
The command apologized for the post and requested that people "ignore" the tweet. What a scare. pic.twitter.com/GQB2CHSDF5
— Pérez Hilton Latinoamérica (@19_comunidad) March 29, 2021
The said agency has stressed, however, that “absolutely nothing nefarious occurred, i.e., no hacking of our Twitter account.” USSTRATCOM is responsible for strategic deterrence, nuclear operations, global strike and space operations, among others, according to its website. Ian Biong /ra
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