A TORY minister's Twitter account has changed its profile picture to an image of Elon Musk while promoting a fake cryptocurrency event.
Gillian Keegan's social media account was apparently hacked on Christmas evening when it started sharing links to a bogus event promoting a cryptocurrency once backed by the Twitter CEO.
The Education Secretary's profile appears to have been hacked at around 7.30pm on Christmas day but has continued to promote the "Tesla x Twitter First Event" through to Boxing Day.
While the Tory MP's cover photo shows her Chichester constituency work her profile picture remains an image of Musk, who took over as CEO of the platform in October.
Since Christmas, the account has replied to dozens of tweets about a fake event hosted by Musk's companies Twitter and Tesla.
READ MORE: Elon Musk to step down as Twitter chief once he finds successor
The link, titled "Elon Musk - GET FREE DOGE, BTC & ETC", claims there will be a "special giveaway for all our fans and the crypto community".
Doge refers to Dogecoin, a cryptocurrency originally launched in 2013 as a joke that later saw its value sore by more than 18,000% following regular praise from Musk.
One tweet referred to people who own Dogecoin as "warriors fighting for the future".
Twitter's newly-added view count suggests the tweets have been seen by tens of thousands of people.
The UK Department for Education said it does not comment on hacks.
Why are you making commenting on The National only available to subscribers?
We know there are thousands of National readers who want to debate, argue and go back and forth in the comments section of our stories. We’ve got the most informed readers in Scotland, asking each other the big questions about the future of our country.
Unfortunately, though, these important debates are being spoiled by a vocal minority of trolls who aren’t really interested in the issues, try to derail the conversations, register under fake names, and post vile abuse.
So that’s why we’ve decided to make the ability to comment only available to our paying subscribers. That way, all the trolls who post abuse on our website will have to pay if they want to join the debate – and risk a permanent ban from the account that they subscribe with.
The conversation will go back to what it should be about – people who care passionately about the issues, but disagree constructively on what we should do about them. Let’s get that debate started!
Callum Baird, Editor of The National
Comments: Our rules
We want our comments to be a lively and valuable part of our community - a place where readers can debate and engage with the most important local issues. The ability to comment on our stories is a privilege, not a right, however, and that privilege may be withdrawn if it is abused or misused.
Please report any comments that break our rules.
Read the rules hereLast Updated:
Report this comment Cancel