After Barkha Dutt, hackers target Tanmay Bhat's YT channel; All videos deleted
Channel's name changed to Tesla Corp
Mumbai: Hours after Journalist Barkha Dutt’s YouTube channel 'The Mojo Story' was hacked, YouTuber and Comedian Tanmay Bhat was also targeted by hackers whose channel was also hacked by them, before deleting all the content posted on the channel and renaming it to 'Tesla Corp.'
Bhat who himself claims to be the Indian “Pew-de-pie” had over 44 lakh subscribers and posted multi genre videos ranging from vlog to meme reactions.
Bhat confirmed the cyber-attack through a tweet saying that both his YouTube and Gmail accounts have been hacked. The hackers had breached the two-factor authentication, he said.
In addition, Bhat who sought help from Google and YouTube wrote in a tweet, "Hi guys - my YouTube/Gmail account has been hacked. 2FA bypassed. I need urgent help. Please DM!"
Unfolding additional details, Bhat said that the hackers had started a livestream video on his channel, which was now set as a private video. Bhat urged YouTube to promptly take actions against the hackers.
In another tweet he wrote "@TeamYouTube, my channel is hacked, and a live stream has begun. Please help!”
According to reports, several popular YouTubers, such as stand-up comedian Aishwarya Mohanraj and YouTuber Abdu Rozik, have reportedly experienced similar cyber-attacks. It is worth noting that, in all of the compromised accounts, the hackers have altered the names of the YouTube channels to "Tesla" and changed the display pictures with Tesla's logo. Additionally, they have replaced the cover photos of the YouTube channels with images showcasing Tesla cars.
In addition to changing the profile name and picture, the hackers were also conducting live streams through these compromised YouTube accounts, titled: "Tesla Unveils the All-New Model S Plaid 2024 Today! Live Coverage with Elon Musk!" As of now, none of these YouTube accounts have been successfully recovered. While some of the accounts had their videos completely erased, Bhat's channel still shows 473 videos; however, all of them are placed as private, reported IndiaToday.
Journalist Barkha Dutt's "The Mojo Story" YouTube channel hacked, hackers delete all videos
Earlier in the day, hackers also targeted notable journalist Barkha Dutt’s YouTube channel “The Mojo Story.” Similarly, all videos from the channel were erased.
Taking to twitter the journalist wrote, "After hours of urging @TeamYouTube to act and being assured action is being taken, I woke up to find the @themojostory channel content ALL DELETED by the hackers - four years of blood, toil, sweat, tears, 11 thousand videos, COVID work of 3 years, ALL GONE. I am heartbroken."
However, “The Mojo Story’s” account was restored, and all the videos were available.
@TeamYouTube https://t.co/8Oq8n0NnPi - my channel is hacked and a a live stream has begun. Please help!
— Tanmay Bhat (@thetanmay) June 4, 2023
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UDF leaders see local body poll trends as pointer to 2026 Assembly elections in Kerala
Thiruvananthapuram (PTI): Buoyed by the strong performance of the Congress-led UDF in the local body polls, KPCC president Sunny Joseph said on Saturday that the front's results indicated the people had rejected the LDF government.
According to early trends, the UDF was leading in more grama panchayats, block panchayats, municipalities and corporations than the LDF.
The local body polls were held in two phases in the state earlier this week.
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Speaking to reporters here, Joseph said the people of Kerala had extended their support to the UDF.
"We could expose the LDF government’s anti-people stance and the people understood it. The LDF’s fake propaganda was rejected by the people. The UDF is moving towards a historic victory," he said.
He said a united effort, proper preparations, good candidate selection and hard work had resulted in the Congress and the UDF’s victory in the elections.
Asked about the prospects in the Thiruvananthapuram Corporation, Joseph said the party was studying the matter and would comment later.
LDF convenor T P Ramakrishnan said the results would be closely examined.
According to him, the government had done everything possible for the people.
"Why such a verdict happened will be examined at the micro level. People’s opinion will be considered and further steps will be taken," he said.
He added that decisions would be taken after analysing the results. "If any corrective measures are required, we will initiate them and move forward," he said.
AICC leader K C Venugopal said the results showed that people had begun ousting those who, he alleged, were responsible for the loss of gold at Lord Ayyappa’s temple.
"This trend will continue in the Assembly elections as well. It is an indication that the people are ready to bring down the LDF government," he said.
Venugopal said the UDF had registered victories even in CPI(M) and LDF strongholds.
"I congratulate all UDF workers for their hard work. Congress workers and leaders worked unitedly," he said.
Referring to remarks made by Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan against the Congress on polling day, Venugopal said the voters had responded through the verdict.
"I do not know whether the chief minister understands that the people are against him. Otherwise, he does not know the sentiment of the people. The state government cannot move an inch further," he said.
He said the results indicated a strong comeback for the UDF in Kerala.
Asked whether the Sabarimala gold loss issue had affected the LDF in the local polls, Venugopal said the CM and the CPI(M) state secretary did not take the issue seriously.
"We took a strong stand on the matter. The BJP played a foul game in it," he alleged.
On the BJP's role in the local body elections, Venugopal alleged that the party operated with the CPI(M) 's tacit support.
"The CPI(M) supported the central government on issues such as PM-SHRI, labour codes and corruption in national highway construction. The CPI(M) is facing ideological decline, and the state government’s policies are against the party’s own decisions," he said.
Meanwhile, LDF ally Kerala Congress (M) leader Jose K Mani said the party could not win all the wards it had expected in the elections.
He congratulated winners from all parties and said the party would closely examine the losses and identify shortcomings. "Later, we will take corrective measures," he added.
Senior Congress leader and MP Rajmohan Unnithan said the trends in the local body elections indicated that the UDF would return to power in the 2026 Assembly elections.
"We will win 111 seats as in 1977 and return to power in 2026. The anti-government sentiment of the people is reflected in the elections," he said.
Unnithan said the people were disturbed and unhappy with the present government.
"The trend indicates the end of the LDF government," he added.
CPI(M) MLA M M Mani said the people had shown ingratitude towards the LDF despite benefiting from welfare schemes.
"After receiving all welfare schemes and living comfortably, people voted against us due to some temporary sentiments. Is that not ingratitude," he asked.
Mani said no such welfare initiatives had taken place in Kerala earlier.
"People are receiving pensions and have enough to eat. Even after getting all this, they voted against us. This is what can be called ingratitude," he said.
Muslim League state president Panakkad Sayyid Sadiq Ali Shihab Thangal said the results were beyond expectations.
"The outcome points towards the Secretariat in Thiruvananthapuram, indicating that a change of government is imminent. We are going to win the Assembly election," he said.
