‘Hope it’s not a nuclear launch code’: US Strategic Command posts gibberish tweet

‘Hope it’s not a nuclear launch code’: US Strategic Command posts gibberish tweet before quickly deleting it sparking hacking fears and a deluge of mocking responses

  • At around 8pm last night the military arm, which is responsible for protecting the United States from nuclear strikes, tweeted: ‘;l;;gmlxzssaw’ 
  • It sparked a lively debate over whether the account may have been hacked, while others suggested these could be the secret nuclear launch codes 
  • Some shared memes which suggested Russia or China was behind it  

US Strategic Command posted a gibberish tweet – before quickly deleting it sparking hacking fears and a deluge of mocking responses.

At around 8pm last night the headquarters, which is responsible for protecting the United States from nuclear strikes, tweeted: ‘;l;;gmlxzssaw.’

It prompted speculation over whether the account may have been hacked, with some claiming perhaps the Russians were behind it, while others joked that it must be the nuclear launch code.  

At around 8pm last night the the military arm, which is responsible for protecting the US from nuclear strikes, tweeted: ‘;l;;gmlxzssaw’

An edited picture showing an officer at a computer with the gibberish letters on the screen in front of him

An edited picture showing an officer at a computer with the gibberish letters on the screen in front of him

Many suggested that the tweet may have been the work of the Russians or the Chinese

Many suggested that the tweet may have been the work of the Russians or the Chinese

‘Time to say goodbye to everyone. I’ll miss my friends and family,’ one user commented.

Another said: ‘Hope it’s not a launch code.’

Many other users suggested that this was simply a case of ‘butt-dialling’, while several others said that a cat was clearly responsible. 

‘I really hope it’s a code from a cat at a keyboard,’ one user wrote. 

Canadian Forces in the US even waded in, tweeting from their official account: ‘These things happen. This might even happen to you one day. It’s okay, folks.’

US Strategic Command, headquartered in Omaha, Nebraska, later followed the tweet up, writing: ‘Apologizes (sic) for any confusion. Please disregard this post.’ 

The typo on apologies was even seized upon as further evidence that something was awry.

‘US Strategic Command can’t spell apologies. Have they been hacked, or are incompetents running our nuclear arsenal?’ someone tweeted.

An hour later and both tweets had been deleted without any further explanation provided.

As well as defending against attacks, USSTRATCOM is capable of launching nuclear offensives on enemies should deterrence fail. 

Many suggested that a cat was behind the gibberish tweet

Many suggested that a cat was behind the gibberish tweet

Canadian Forces in the US even waded in, tweeting from their official account: 'These things happen. This might even happen to you one day. It's okay, folks.'

Canadian Forces in the US even waded in, tweeting from their official account: ‘These things happen. This might even happen to you one day. It’s okay, folks.’