'World War III' Reported on Hacked NY Post and UPI Twitter Accounts

Pranksters hijacked Twitter accounts belonging to the New York Post and United Press International to tweet about hostilities breaking out between the United States and China.

One bogus tweet posted under a UPI account quoted Pope Francis as saying, "World War III has begun."

Another false message reported on a Post account said the USS George Washington, an aircraft carrier, was "engaged in active combat" against Chinese warships in the South China Sea.

Network World notes that, at the time, the U.S. Navy’s website listed the George Washington as in its home port of Yokohama, Japan.

A seemingly legit tweet later published by a Post account stated: "Our Twitter account was briefly hacked and we are investigating."

The phony tweets spread other rumors too. One message posted on UPI said, "Just in: Bank of America CEO calls for calm: Savings accounts will not be affected by federal reserve decision."

A Defense Department official said the tweet about hostilities with China was "not true."