Hackers hit Reuters, post fake blog on Syria

NEW YORK (AFP) - Hackers took over the blogging platform of the Reuters news agency and posted "fabricated" stories said to include an interview with a Syrian rebel leader, the company said on Friday.

"Reuters.com was a target of a hack on Friday," said a statement from parent firm Thomson Reuters.

"Our blogging platform was compromised and fabricated blog posts were falsely attributed to several Reuters journalists." Among the fake postings was a purported interview with the head of the Free Syrian Army, who was quoted as saying that rebel forces were pulling back after clashes in the city of Aleppo.

Reuters said it did not carry out that interview, that the posting has been deleted and that the blogging platform was taken offline as it addresses the problem.