Twitter Bug Snags White House Press Secretary
White House Press Secretary Robert Gibbs was one of the many Twitter users who fell victim to a javascript bug that hit the Twitter homepage today:
White House press secretary Robert Gibbs was one of many Twitter users whose accounts were infected Tuesday with a virus spreading around the popular microblogging site.
Here are some tweets that came through Gibbs’s feed:
PressSec RT @doog_: http://t.co/@”onmouseover=”document.getElementById(‘status’).value=’RT doog_’;$(‘.status-update-form’).submit();”class=”modal …
PressSec RT @UchihaBlood: @anafree I really think something is seriously wrong with twitters servers they are running scripts directly frm the st …
The social media site Mashable reported that the bug was caused by a security flaw on Twitter.com. Users are unknowingly being directed to third-party websites simply by scrolling their mouse cursors over offending links.
Twitter reported later Tuesday morning the problem has been fixed.
Gibbs apologized for any bugged tweets, writing: “My Twitter went haywire – absolutely no clue why it sent that message or even what it is…paging the tech guys…”
Congressman Rob Wittmann apparently also fell victim to the exploit, as did the wife of former British Prime Minister Gordon Brown.
Guys, use Tweetdeck.
