‘Free Gaza’: Ford social media hacked with anti-Israel messages
The Ford Motor Company’s social media site was hacked Monday with messages posted in support of Gaza and against Israel appearing to come from Ford.
“ALL EYES ON GAZA,” “Israel is a terrorist state,” and “Free Palestine” were posted before Ford deleted the messages.
“Our X account was briefly compromised and three posts were made that were not authorized or posted by Ford,” the company wrote on X. “They do not represent the views of Ford Motor Company. Ford and X are investigating this breach.”
The posts were widely circulated before Ford took them down, with some X readers who were unaware that the site had been hacked praising Ford, while other attacked the company. After Ford posted a message about the hack, several X posters criticized the company for not apologizing for the tweets.
“This is a statement and not an apology,” rabbi Samuel Stern wrote in a reply post. “I wonder if the unauthorized posts targeted anyone else if you would have apologized?”
“Incredibly weak statement,” Brianna Wu, executive director of Rebellion PAC, told her followers on X. “Denounce antisemitism. Apologize to the Jewish community. Promise consequences for the people responsible.”
Ford has a mixed history with antisemitism and Israel. Company founder Henry Ford was prominently antisemitic and spread conspiracy theories about the Jewish people. Adolf Hitler complimented Henry Ford in his notorious book Mein Kampf, and Germany in 1938 awarded Ford the Grand Cross of the German Eagle, the country’s highest honor for foreigners.
The Ford company, however, has supplied armored vehicles to the Israeli military, while the Ford Foundation has provided aid in Israel and in the Gaza Strip.