A massive bug affecting some 8,600 unique Tumblr users has swept the platform, infecting some of its largest blogs and leaving spam blog posts in its wake.
Blogs by Reuters, The Verge, CNET and USA Today have been affected by the attack, CNET reported, adding that a hacker group called GNAA has claimed responsibility for the attack.
When visiting an infected Tumblr site, users see an expletive-laden post urging them to commit suicide. The message also says deleting the post will delete the user’s Tumblr account. Visitors also see a pop-up asking them to confirm they want to leave the page.
The Wall Street Journal reports that it appears that visiting a compromised Tumblr page can affect a user’s account, so the best thing to do is to stay off the Tumblr site for the time being.
In a tweet, Tumblr said it is aware that there is a viral post circulating on Tumblr and it is working to resolve the issue as swiftly as possible.
In a statement, Tumblr also said, “There is a viral post circulating on Tumblr which begins ‘Dearest “Tumblr” users’. If you have viewed this post, please log out of all browsers that may be using Tumblr immediately. Our engineers are working to resolve the issue as swiftly as possible. Thank you.”
The GNAA is an anti-blogging, internet trolling organisation, USA Today reported.
