Panic as Britney Spears Is Declared Dead By Sony Twitter Account

Panic as Britney Spears Is Declared Dead By Sony Twitter Account

The Twitter account of Sony Music falsely tweeted Monday that Britney Spears had died, featuring separate postings that read: “RIP @britneyspears #RIPBritney 1981-2016,” and “Britney spears is dead by accident! We will tell you more soon #RIPBritney.”

Separately, the official Twitter account for Bob Dylan featured a tweet that read: “Rest in peace @britneyspears” at roughly the same time of the Sony account tweets —  which later were deleted.

A representative for the 35-year-old pop star told CNN the death claim was erroneous.

“I assume their account has been hacked,” Spears’ manager, Adam Leber, told the news channel. “I haven’t spoken to anyone… as of yet but I am certain their account was hacked. Britney is fine and well. There have been a few Internet clowns over the years who have made similar claims about her death, but never from the official Sony Music Twitter account.”

Sony confirmed Monday afternoon that its Sony Music Entertainment Twitter account had been “compromised.”

“This has been rectified,” the company said in a formal statement. “Sony Music apologizes to Britney Spears and her fans for any confusion.”

The global media company has been victimized by hacking in the past, most notably by a 2014 cyberattack on Sony Pictures Entertainment by a group that called themselves the Guardians of Peace

That attack is thought to have been a retaliatory move for a satirical movie called The Interview, starring Seth Rogen and James Franco, about bungling journalists who coordinate an assassination of North Korea’s Supreme Leader Kim Jong Un.