PM Narendra Modi's Twitter Account Hacked, Hoax Message Appears India Adopts Bitcoin And Will Distribute To Its Citizens

JAKARTA - The Twitter account of the Prime Minister of India, Narendra Modi, was hacked by displaying a message saying India has adopted bitcoin as a legal tender and will distribute it to all citizens, Sunday morning, December 12 local time.

The tweet was quickly deleted and his office said the account had been changed very briefly. This is the second time Modi's Twitter account has been hacked.

Modi is known as a prolific tweeter and has more than 73 million followers - the most of any world leader.

The deleted tweet from his main @narendramodi account said the Indian government had officially bought 500 bitcoins and "and distributed them to all residents of the country".

Last year, his account was also hacked and a tweet was sent urging people to donate to a fake Covid relief fund.

The latest hack comes as India prepares to crack down on the country's booming cryptocurrency trade, with a new law likely to be presented to parliament this month.

Modi himself said last month that cryptocurrencies could "ruin our youth"

It was not immediately clear how long Modi's personal Twitter account, which has more than 73 million followers, was hacked. But Twitter immediately took the necessary steps to secure the compromised account after learning of the suspicious activity, a Twitter spokesperson said in an emailed statement to Reuters.

They also stated from the initial investigation that Twitter revealed there were no signs of any other accounts being affected at this time.