Missing Malaysian Airlines Flight MH370 ‘Found in Bay’ Claims CNN’s Viral Twitter Post: Hoax or Real? – Details
Missing Malaysia Airlines Flight MH370 continue to be a mystery for the entire world. As the search continues, the mystery continues to deepen leaving authorities and investigators baffled and families of the missing passengers frustrated. In the meantime, posts claiming from CNN have gone viral recently. The viral Twitter posts claims that missing Boeing 777 "has been found" or "found in bay." But it is just a hoax or a scam.
Malaysia Airlines Flight MH370 went missing on March 8, 2014. It has become one of the biggest mysteries in aviation history. And over the period of time, several viral videos and posts claiming missing plane has been found have surfaced on social media Web sites like Twitter and Facebook. These hoax video and posts go viral because they are posted with appealing headlines with phrases such as Boeing 777 "has been found."
According to News.com.au, several fake news profiles have been created on social media Web sites. CNN is one of the recent targets of hackers creating its fake profiles, linking to promotional Web sites such as MobileLikez.com or fake surveys. When these links are clicked by users it reaches Web sites which make user information vulnerable and easily accessible by hackers. Thus it endangers user's privacy and security. This is known as "clickjacking scam."
CNN's fake profiles titles include @ReaICNN, @OfficiallCNN, @OfficiaICNN, @OfficiaI_CNN and @OFFICIALCNN_, as listed by News.com.au. These fake profiles posted posts claiming aircraft's discovery "in a bay."
What makes these fake posts and accounts look authentic are thousands of retweets. One of the CNN fake account's post claiming missing Malaysia Airlines Flight MH370 has been found was reportedly retweeted more than 2000 times.
A number of such posts with CNN in title have emerged. Another one with @OfficialCNN handle posted a picture of US Airways Flight 1549 with its passengers standing on its wings, from an incident that took place in 2009. The post was reportedly retweeted more than 900 times.
Earlier, a viral video on Facebook claiming the plane has been found in "Bermuda Triangle" was circulating widely. The hoax video was instead a link to fraud surveys listed by hackers or hackers' technique of spreading malware. However, according to Facebook representative the fake links were taken down by the company.
Urban Legends lists some the fake headlines that are making rounds on Twitter. They usually include attention-grabbing phases such as:
"BREAKING NEWS: Malaysian Flight 370 has been found."
"BREAKING: Malaysian Flight 370 has been found in bay."
"Malaysian Airlines 'MH350' has been found in bay."
"Malaysian aircraft MH370, found in a bay."
It is advised to the users: before clicking any such links they must confirm channels or Web sites' social media feeds or carry out a Google search.
Meanwhile, it has been confirmed by Malaysian PM Najib Razak that missing Malaysia Airlines MH370 "ended" in Southern Indian Ocean, in a press conference on March 24, 2014. The crash has killed all the 239 passengers on board.
For more updates on Missing Malaysia Airlines flight MH370, read below:
Facebook Video Claiming Malaysia Airlines Flight MH370 'Found in Bermuda Triangle' is a Hoax; Hackers Spreading Malware with Viral Fake Stories