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Burger King got things rolling. Then it was Jeep. Hackers made merry on the Twitter pages of the leading brands, sending out weird messages... MTV’s Twitter Hacking Prank Misfires

Burger King got things rolling. Then it was Jeep. Hackers made merry on the Twitter pages of the leading brands, sending out weird messages and changing the design and layout of the profile. They also used the platform to spread rumors. Well apparently the hacking worked out well for Burger King. They now have 30,000 more followers on their Twitter page than before it was hacked. The latest to join the hacked brigade was MTV. Their Twitter page was hacked by……. MTV!

MTV’s Twitter Hacking Prank Misfires

Believe it or not, the music channel decided to pull a prank on its followers and the Twitterati in general. The hack was evident as several strange and outrageous tweets were made from their account, some quite notorious in nature. Well, it was later revealed that it was all a major prank by MTV itself to have a little fun. The celebs offended by the messages they saw posted about them on MTV’s Twitter feed would not see the fun in that for sure.

In the end, it turned out to be a major publicity stunt. Clearly, Microsoft was impressed by the fact that Burger King gained 30,000 followers after being hacked and thought they would try the same. The main purpose of the hacking prank was to create some hype for the upcoming event, the BET Experience to be held in LA. What’s more BET was in on the act and is said to have helped MTV orchestrate the prank. Clearly, the two networks got the better of the music and showbiz industry for a few hours.

MTV’s Twitter Hacking Prank Misfires

The interesting thing to note here is that MTV’s social media manager had in fact commented on the number of followers Burger King had gained after its Twitter page was hacked. Ironically, he had expressed his comments using Twitter! This does clarify the situation to a large extent. It shows that the two networks were trying to make the most of the hacking trend which had been emerging on Twitter to gain followers and generate publicity.

However, their prank may have backfired big time. Considering the fact that some pages have been hacked in the recent past, a business attempting to pull a hacking prank on its own page will not sit well with the Twitter users. In fact, it might imply that MTV is not so serious about its Twitter page and wants to gain followers by any means. It is quite possible that some users might consider MTV unreliable and distrustful from now on.

Some of the negative sentiments have been aired on Twitter, mostly by followers of the MTV page. They don’t appreciate being taken for a ride by the music network. It does make one wonder why MTV decided to reveal that they had hacked their own page. After all, it was quite convenient for them to pretend that it was a real hacking and they were no longer in control of their page. Turns out their confidence got the better of them and they are now left saving face on Twitter.

[Images via mashable]