A hacker associated with Anonymous who goes by the name WauchulaGhost has claimed credit for hacking a number of Twitter profiles operated by members of the so-called Islamic State terrorist organisation in the wake of Sunday morning’s attack at a Latin night in the Pulse gay nightclub in Orlando.
Taking control of hundreds of accounts, the hacker replaced photographs with gay pride slogans and sent out messages containing gay pornographic images. Many of the profiles had their main photograph replaced with a rainbow flag design with the words ‘I’m gay and I’m proud’ superimposed on top.
The hacker, who also goes by the name ‘Ghost’, started infiltrating the accounts after ISIS members praised the Orlando massacre, in which Omar Mateen murder 49 people and injured many others.
Keeping the thoughts and prayers going. #Daesh In #Jordan. @0Jdkshey #Orlando. #OpDaesh #Anonymous #GhostOfNoNation pic.twitter.com/UCrBTFcBMD
— WauchulaGhost (@WauchulaGhost) June 14, 2016
“The government really hasn’t been doing enough especially on social media,” the Ghost told the Washington Post. “You see the beheading images everywhere. Kids get online and shouldn’t see these images.
“I think we’re there to serve a purpose, at least I know I am,” the Ghost said. “My goal waking up in the morning [is to] see messages from Daesh (another word for IS), telling me they’re going to kill me or cut my head off. The madder they get, the happier I get.”
After hacking and altering the accounts on Sunday, the Ghost added them to a public list, under the name ‘Jacked Accounts’, which Twitter later suspended on Monday afternoon. Twitter officials claim they have deleted more than 125,000 accounts since 2015 for the promotion of terrorism, particularly the views of the Islamic State.