Fireworks explode over the Enchanted Storybook Castle at the Shanghai Disney Resort on the reopening day on June 30, 2022 in Shanghai, China. (Photo by VCG/VCG via Getty Images)
Social media accounts for Disneyland were hacked on Thursday (July 7) with several new posts containing vile racial and homophobic slurs.
Digital journalist Ashley Carter reported on the hacked account in a tweet, saying that “the official Disneyland Instagram appears to have been hacked” and that several posts “contain racial slurs and expletives”. She then tweeted 12 minutes later saying that the posts had been deleted.
The official Disneyland Instagram appears to have been hacked. At least four recent posts contain racial slurs and expletives. pic.twitter.com/mzQMUFwWjh
— Ashley Carter (@AshleyLCarter1) July 7, 2022
The theme park’s representatives issued a statement confirming that their Facebook and Instagram accounts were compromised, calling the content posted “reprehensible” and announcing an investigation into the breach.
LA Times initially reported that the hackers – who have yet to be identified – published four posts and two stories, some of which featured commentary on the COVID-19 pandemic. The hackers were reportedly “taking revenge” on the resort for unknown reasons.
The bigoted messages on various issues were released to Disneyland’s 8.4 million followers before being deleted. As of now, the most recent post is now of the resort issuing fans a “Hakuna Matata Friday!” with a screenshot of Tale of the Lion King.
This isn’t the first time the multimedia empire has faced issues from so-called “super hackers.” in 2019, thousands of Disney+ accounts were hacked and many were stolen. Despite this, Disney told the BBC that it did not believe its systems were compromised.
“Disney takes the privacy and security of our users’ data very seriously and there is no indication of a security breach on Disney+,” a spokesman said, indicating that the breach may have been through other means.
Disneyland Paris celebrated yet another magical Pride event on 11 June, opening the park’s doors until 2am with live music, a parade and even late-night attractions. The line-up for live performers this year featured Mika, Becky Hill and Bilal Hassani.
The French park celebrated its first Pride in 2019 after partnering with Greatdays Travel Group to bring “the sparkle of Pride” to Disneyland revellers. It celebrated the 2019 parade on June 1 – the first day of Pride Month – with a new “Magical March of Diversity” parade.