McDonald's deletes Trump tweet, says Twitter account compromised

Los Angeles: McDonald`s Corp quickly deleted a tweet sent from the company`s handle slamming U.S. President Donald Trump on Thursday and said its official Twitter account had been compromised.

The tweet, which was copied and shared widely before being deleted, came a day after the Twitter accounts of a number of major news organizations, chief executives, government agencies and other high-profile users were hijacked.

"Twitter notified us that our account was compromised. We deleted the tweet, secured our account and are now investigating this," McDonald`s spokeswoman Terri Hickey said in a statement.

Corporate accounts are attractive targets due to their large followings and the media attention that errant tweets can attract. Twitter Inc allows for two-factor authentication, a security feature that would deter many attempts to seize an account.

Twitter declined comment on Thursday citing "privacy and security reasons".

High-profile Twitter accounts were hijacked on Wednesday to send anti-Nazi messages in Turkish in the midst of a diplomatic spat between Turkey, the Netherlands and Germany. Twitter said on Wednesday the source of that attack was a third-party app, whose permissions were since removed.

The tweet sent from @McDonaldsCorp on Thursday morning read: "@realdonaldtrump You are actually a disgusting excuse of a President and we would love to have @BarackObama back, also you have tiny hands."

Trump did not respond to the incident on Twitter.

Trump, one of the more fast-food friendly presidents in recent years, had tweeted pictures of himself eating food from McDonald`s and other chains during the U.S. election campaign. A 2002 ad campaign featured Trump and the chain`s Grimace mascot promoting an "amazing" $1 deal for McDonald`s since-discontinued Big N` Tasty burger.

The incident comes as McDonald`s is bolstering its digital capabilities with mobile and kiosk ordering as part of an effort to modernize the 60-year-old chain.

Analysts said the hack raises questions about security at Twitter, but was unlikely to do much damage to restaurant chain`s brand.

"As long as Trump doesn`t tweet at them directly, which could be pretty disastrous, this will be a short-term thing for them," said Mike Froggatt, director of intelligence at L2, which monitors the digital performance of brands.

"Twitter trending topics last for maybe 6 hours, a backlash for 10 to 12 hours and then it goes and the herd moves on," said Froggatt, who added that the incident raised the question of whether McDonald`s used the safety tools Twitter offers.

The message from the account of the world`s largest restaurant chain caused a sensation on Twitter, where users shared copies of the deleted tweet and offered jokes and comments.

Vanessa Veasley and other users speculated that Trump supporters could attempt to launch a boycott of the chain, as they threatened to do when Starbucks Corp Chief Executive Howard Schultz vowed to hire 10,000 refugees after Trump`s first executive order temporarily banning refugees from certain countries.

"McDonald`s already deleted the tweet? lol Well at least Trump supporters can finally boycott something they can actually afford," Veasley (@VanessaVeasley) wrote.

Other users praised the fast-food chain, which has been fighting to reverse two straight years of customer traffic declines.

"Suddenly I want a Big Mac, well done @McDonalds," tweeted Shay Steward Bouley (@blackgirlinmain).

Some Trump supporters said McDonald`s had not done enough to atone for the tweet and advocated for a boycott.

"Hey @McDonaldsCorp YOU can`t just undo a tweet!!!

Since you don`t support America, Americans will not support YOU!!! #BoycottMcDonalds," wrote Deborah Brewer? (@Debbie92083).

McDonald`s is not the only high-profile company be compromised with fake tweets over the years, brands including Burger King , Jeep and Sony Music <6758.T> also have been hit.