Twitter accounts belonging to supporters of the Islamic State militant group (ISIS) have been hacked in the wake of the Orlando shooting, with jihadist content replaced with gay pride messages and links to gay pornography.
(Newsweek)- A hacker affiliated with the hacktivist collective Anonymous, who uses the online moniker WauchulaGhost, first began hijacking pro-ISIS Twitter accounts several months ago. Following the mass shooting at the Pulse gay nightclub in Orlando, Florida, on June 13, the hacker decided to replace ISIS imagery posted to the accounts with rainbow flags and pro-LGBT messages.
“I did it for the lives lost in Orlando,” the hacker tells Newsweek. “Daesh [ISIS] have been spreading and praising the attack, so I thought I would defend those that were lost. The taking of innocent lives will not be tolerated.”
The vigilante hacker claims to have taken over 200 Twitter accounts belonging to ISIS supporters. However, many have since been taken down by Twitter. WauchulaGhost plans to continue the campaign with two other hackers who go by the name Ebony and Yeti.
“One thing I do want to say is we aren’t using graphic porn and our purpose is not to offend Muslims,” WachulaGhost says. “Our actions are directed at Jihadist extremists. Many of our own [group of hackers] are Muslim and we respect all religions that do not take innocent lives.”