The BBC has confirmed its news phone app has not been hacked after sending out an errant news alert in Bengali to UK followers.
The text, which has the appearance of Arabic script to the untrained eye, raised fears that the BBC might have been targeted by hackers, with one Twitter user claiming “it looks like Isis is winning”.
Just got a notification from #BBC news app and it looks like Isis is winning! pic.twitter.com/9tkGmo9RmF
— Greglaar (@Greglaar1) September 2, 2016
But a spokesman told Press Gazette the alert was simply “human error”.
A tweet from the BBC Breaking News Twitter account added: “Apologies to anyone who received a breaking news alert from our Bengali service. Don’t worry, we weren’t hacked.”
Apologies to anyone who received a breaking news alert from our Bengali service. Don't worry, we weren't hacked
— BBC Breaking News (@BBCBreaking) September 2, 2016
In case you were wondering, here’s what the fragmented message said in English: “Mirpur in Dhaka, Bangladesh, where people suspected militants in a raid on a suspected militant was killed, three policemen were injured.
“Rahman Dhaka Metropolitan Police spokesman said the police operation is still in progress. The injured police officer in charge of the city is to stay in Rupnagar.”
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