The late David Carr's Twitter was hacked, raising concerns about accounts for deceased
Everyone can be hacked online -- even the dead.
The Twitter account for David Carr, the late, legendary reporter for The New York Times known for being a champion of new media, was briefly taken over by a pornbot on Thursday morning.
Some of Carr's more than 450,000 followers, who never unfollowed the account in the 15 months since his sudden death at age 58, were shocked to see his user name post a salacious image of a woman with the prompt, "I love playing role games and sex," followed by a spammy link.
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Carr's profile picture and bio on the account were also changed.
Twitter's team moved quickly to regain control of the account, but not before the unsettling episode raised concerns about how Twitter and other social networks protect the accounts of the deceased.
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The Carr incident is just the latest and perhaps the most high-profile reminder that social media accounts of deceased celebrities, friends and loved ones can be tampered with in what can feel like the digital version of defiling a grave.
The Twitter account of Peaches Geldof, the late English journalist and TV personality, was hacked a few months after her death in 2014 to promote a fat-burning trick. Some Facebook users have complained in recent years about pages for deceased family members apparently being overtaken by spam.
Facebook, however, offers the option to memorialize accounts of the deceased, which it says prevents anyone from logging in, including potential spammers and hackers.
Twitter appears to offer no such option at the moment. Instead, users can request to have an account deactivated, though that doesn't work for those who want to keep the accounts around as a testament to the individual who passed away.
Reps for Twitter did not immediately respond to our request for comment.
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Those close to prominent figures like Paul Walker and Roger Ebert continue to keep their accounts active to engage with fans. Other accounts like those belonging to Leonard Nimoy and David Carr remain as silent tributes -- at least until someone disturbs the peace.
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Seth Fiegerman was a Senior Business Reporter at Mashable, where he covered startups, marketing and the latest consumer tech trends. He joined Mashable in August 2012 and is based in New York.Before joining Mashable, Seth covered all things Apple as a reporter at Silicon Alley Insider, the tech section of Business Insider. He has also worked as a staff writer at TheStreet.com and as an editor at Playboy Magazine. His work has appeared in Newsweek, NPR, Kiplinger, Portfolio and The Huffington Post.Seth received his Bachelor of Arts from New York University, where he majored in journalism and philosophy.In his spare time, Seth enjoys bike riding around Brooklyn and writing really bad folk songs.
