Wall Street Journal critic and Commentary critic-at-large Terry Teachout was minding his own business when someone — or, rather, someones — hacked his Twitter account over the weekend. Except they didn’t just hack it; they used it to post “obscene” tweets. And held it for ransom. Oh, and they called him on the phone multiple times.
I was hacked this morning and all of my tweets were erased. Now I'm starting fresh with a new Twitter acount. Please pass the word.
— Terry Teachout (@TerryTeachout1) December 2, 2018
Please also note that I have a new username, @TerryTeachout1.
— Terry Teachout (@TerryTeachout1) December 2, 2018
To all my "new" followers: I am in the process of deactivating my old Twitter account. All things considered, I think I'll feel more secure if I start from scratch here. So watch this space for more stuff—and pass the word that I've moved!
— Terry Teachout (@TerryTeachout1) December 3, 2018
For those of you who wonder exactly what happened to my old Twitter account, here's the complete story: https://t.co/EzKAGy7ZSa
— Terry Teachout (@TerryTeachout1) December 3, 2018
More from Teachout:
Accordingly, I’ve asked Twitter to deactivate @terryteachout and have started a brand-new Twitter account, @TerryTeachout1. This means, of course, that all of my old Tweets will vanish into the memory hole and that I will lose my 15,000 followers. Be that as it may, I feel more comfortable with this drastic solution: I simply don’t want to be associated with the old account any more. It feels dirty, if you know what I mean, in the same way that a house that has been burglarized feels dirty. All things considered, I’d rather start from scratch.
So, what did Teachout get for reaching out to Twitter support for help? This:
Critic @wsj Terry Teachout (now @terryteachout1)'s account is stolen by racist hackers demanding money. And this is your response, @TwitterSupport @derella @jack @paraga @vijaya @nedsiegel @leslieberland @gracie @kayvz @brucefalck @michalemontano? SHAME ON YOU pic.twitter.com/C65kJ6gMFg
— Farran Nehme (@selfstyledsiren) December 3, 2018
The hell?
So that's how @TwitterSupport responds when my blue-checked account is hacked, obscene messages are posted on it, and a ransom request is made to me by telephone. Thanks a lot.
— Terry Teachout (@TerryTeachout1) December 3, 2018
Dear @TwitterSupport: What I expect is for you to (1) delete @terryteachout immediately, (2) transfer my blue check to @TerryTeachout1, and (3) send me a letter of apology for your outrageous decision to do nothing about my having been hacked. (Please note: I write for the @wsj.)
— Terry Teachout (@TerryTeachout1) December 3, 2018
Apparently that’s just too much to ask of Twitter.
Dear @jack: My Twitter account, @terryteachout, was hacked this morning. Obscene and racist messages were posted on it, after which I received a phone call from England demanding ransom. The same hackers also attacked my e-mail and telephone accounts.
— Terry Teachout (@TerryTeachout1) December 3, 2018
Everybody but @TwitterSupport has been incredibly helpful to me on this matter. Unfortunately, I cannot get your support people to delete my old account (I have since started a new one, @TerryTeachout1) and transfer my verification there.
— Terry Teachout (@TerryTeachout1) December 3, 2018
As a result, there are still obscene and racist tweets posted under my name. I can't believe that no one will help me solve this problem. I'm a columnist for the @wsj, and I would hate to think that I'd have to write a piece for them in order to get help from you. Must I do that?
— Terry Teachout (@TerryTeachout1) December 3, 2018
These days, there’s not much common ground between liberals and conservatives, but tweeters of all political stripes are uniting in their disgust for Twitter’s shameful handling of this situation.
Terry Teachout is one of my favorite writers and critics whose writings on the drama with the Metropolitan Opera post-Levine scandal have been insightful. It's deeply frustrating to see how Twitter responded to his (verified!) account being hacked. https://t.co/iMzSoroG76
— Monica Reida (@monica_reida) December 3, 2018
This is insane, Twitter. https://t.co/YG9mslRJnE
— Seth Mandel (@SethAMandel) December 3, 2018
Twitter's response here is incredibly stupid. https://t.co/ZYcYeLQ16S
— Elizabeth Spiers (@espiers) December 3, 2018
This is absolutely unbelievable. @TwitterSupport's response, appended at the bottom of @TerryTeachout1's post, is insane. https://t.co/2VXeKyukyx
— Dovid Margolin (@dovidmargolin) December 3, 2018
Read this and behold how @TwitterSupport responded to the hijacking of Terry Teachout’s account by criminals. Absolutely unreal. https://t.co/K2ZtG0o7OC
— Daniel Patrick Sheehan (@lvstories) December 3, 2018
They're the worst. I reported it as well the moment I saw the tweets and they did absolutely nothing. No actual support of any kind.
— Martin Garner (@garno3000) December 3, 2018
Are they using AI for customer support now? It takes less than a minute to investigate and find out the facts here. Absolutely ridiculous, @TwitterSupport.
— Guy David (@DBCWriter) December 3, 2018
Twitter again shows it is run by lunatics. Read Terry's story through to the end to see. https://t.co/che1fDh7vO
— PetsareNOTdisposable⭐⭐⭐ (@LrElias3) December 3, 2018
Can you do anything right, @TwitterSupport?https://t.co/Ije6258UDc
— Mark Harris (@MarkHarrisNYC) December 3, 2018
It’s looking more and more like the answer to that question is no.
@jack and his clan need to stop Twitter "improvements" like adding more word counts and taking away like buttons and strengthen their @TwitterSupport customer service. That response is ridiculous and embarrassing.
— Jessica P. (@HollywoodComet) December 3, 2018
Of all the social media platforms, @Twitter has the WORST support responses. This needs to be fixed, @TwitterSupport. (see thread)https://t.co/lXD92tGJEj
— Russell T. Warne (@Russwarne) December 3, 2018
This is outrageous, @TwitterSupport and @jack . Mr. Teachout is the drama critic for @WSJ , had a verified account with 14.6K followers and you’ve told him that the obscene hijacking of his original account is not a violation? PLEASE fix this! https://t.co/Ebs1gw0FMx
— Cindizzi (@cindizzi) December 3, 2018
Hey @TwitterSupport – a nationally known theatre critic has his verified account hijacked for ransom, and you won’t do anything to help him? Come on, @jack https://t.co/EGSRuN4cDz
— Mike Hickerson (@mhick) December 3, 2018
A major fail on the part of @twittersupport: how @terryteachout1 (note new account) was hacked for ransom and how @Twitter failed to do anything about it. https://t.co/rmX7DnfEIq
— Howard Sherman (@HESherman) December 3, 2018
Get it together, @TwitterSupport, and restore Terry's original account. https://t.co/m1pyuC9REm
— Sarah Weinman (@sarahw) December 3, 2018
@TwitterSupport someon hacked @terryteachout ‘s account. Vile messages were posted on it. Ransom was requested. That’s far different from “impersonation.” He had to walk away from his account and start @terryteachout1, he deserves your help and apology https://t.co/MdUqKFElvX
— Warren Leight (@warrenleightTV) December 3, 2018
Please spread this far and wide. A verified account was hacked and Twitter sees nothing wrong. This has implications for every user.https://t.co/GatZ3SoJ8J
— Movies Silently (@MoviesSilently) December 3, 2018
Indeed.
Meanwhile, since Twitter’s in no rush to make this right, do Teachout — and yourselves — a favor:
The WSJ theater critic and biographer of Pops and Duke was hacked. He's now at @TerryTeachout1, and is worth a follow. I learn a lot from him. https://t.co/yNaMDUClLy
— Tom Mulherin (@tommulherin) December 3, 2018
The fine critic Terry Teachout had to change his account because of hacking. If you followed him before (or want to follow an urbane & thoughtful writer), here's where he is now. https://t.co/5eJ2wOYBjf
— Jeet Heer (@HeerJeet) December 3, 2018
***
Update:
Holy crap, it’s about damn time!
I rejoice to report that @TwitterSupport has finally deleted my hacked account and verified my new Twitter home, @TerryTeachout1. Read all about it here: https://t.co/mJ9zMEmjWV
— Terry Teachout (@TerryTeachout1) December 3, 2018
And all it took was bipartisan public shaming of Twitter on their own platform.