E! Online says hackers compromised its Twitter and text messaging accounts, sending out erroneous news alerts about Justin Bieber and Angelina Jolie.
E! Online's Twitter account was hacked on Saturday, claiming to have an exclusive of Justin Bieber coming out of the closet.
The hackers quickly began spreading bogus 140-character bits of celebrity gossip to its 5 million followers, the New York Daily News reported.
Exclusive: Justin Bieber to E! Online: I'm a gay, the E! Online account announced, prompting 1,200 retweets and 351 favorites.
One tweet said Selena Gomez, the Baby hitmaker's on-again, off-again girlfriend, was supportive of his declaration.
The Syrian Electronic Army claimed responsibility for Saturday's hack.
E! Online said it was working with Twitter to correct the issue, and that an investigation into the attack was underway.
{{/usCountry}}E! Online said it was working with Twitter to correct the issue, and that an investigation into the attack was underway.
{{/usCountry}}The SEA has taken credit for a string of web attacks on media targets it sees as sympathetic to Syria's rebels, including the BBC, Al Jazeera English and the Guardian.
The group claims to have hacked the Twitter feed of The Associated Press last month.