Gettr, the new pro-Trump social media platform, got off to a rough start this weekend after a number of prominent GOP figures had their profiles hacked on the Fourth of July.
Several big-name Republicans were hit on Sunday, including the accounts for Steve Bannon, Mike Pompeo, Marjorie Taylor-Greene and Jason Miller, the former Trump spokesperson who founded Gettr. Sean Parnell, Harlan Hill and Newsmax were also hacked.
The hacked profiles were all changed to include the message “@JubaBaghad was here :)”; some of the accounts also included the phrase “free Palestine.” The accounts were hacked around 8:30 a.m. ET on Sunday, according to Insider, before being restored around 10:00 a.m. ET.
Here’s a look at a few of the hacked profiles, via Slate reporter Zachary Petrizzo:
Insider reached the hacker or hackers behind @JubaBaghdad on Twitter, who said via direct message they targeted Gettr “just for fun” and because it was “easy” to do. “They should not publish the website before making sure everything, or at least almost everything, is secure,” the hacker said.
Miller, meanwhile, told the outlet the hack was merely a sign Gettr was onto something big.
“You know you’re shaking things up when they come after you,” Miller said in a statement. “The problem was detected and sealed in a mater of minutes, and all the intruder was able to accomplish was change a few user names. The situation has been rectified and we’ve already had more than half a million users sign up for our exciting new platform!”
Miller launched Gettr last week as a digital safe-haven for conservatives and Trump supporters. Gettr’s arrival comes after Trump decided to recently launch — and then fold — his new blog. Trump’s brief blogging career came after he was kicked off Twitter and Facebook earlier this year, following the Jan. 6 Capitol riot. (Trump is permanently banned from Twitter, while Facebook recently said his account could be reinstated in early 2023.)
According the app’s site, Gettr’s mission is “Fighting cancel culture, promoting common sense, defending free speech, challenging social media monopolies, and creating a true marketplace of ideas.” The platform looks similar to Twitter and is available on Apple and Google’s app stores.