The Twitter account of investigative journalist and founder of West Africa Weekly, David Hundeyin, was hacked on Wednesday, April 10, 2025, according to a series of alert emails seen.
Emails sent to Hundeyin’s account from Twitter (now X) on April 10 showed unauthorised attempts to access and change key security settings on the account.
The incident began with an email from “X Infringement” with the subject line “Content Issue on @DavidHundeyin page.” According to the email, X had determined that the content shared by the investigative journalist did not comply with the platform rules. It requested that he review his flagged content and check for issues or appeal for further review.
Four minutes later, X notified Hundeyin that “two-factor authentication is now turned off” on his account — an alarming development indicating that a third party had accessed his security settings.
In the same breath, a second notification arrived from X stating: “Your X password has been changed.” This confirmed that the attacker had successfully locked Hundeyin out of his account.
In response, Hundeyin attempted to recover access, prompting an access support message from X.
However, the situation took a final turn when he received a fifth email from an X user identified as @natalypaten, with the subject line “@natalypaten accepted your delegation invite.” This suggests the attacker may have exploited Twitter’s delegation or account access features, potentially transferring control or permissions to another account.
At the time of publishing, the account remains inaccessible to Hundeyin, and attempts to recover it have proved futile. Hundeyin has called on X users not to engage his account and to report it as spam massively.
David Hundeyin is a well-known figure in African journalism, noted for his in-depth investigations and outspoken commentary. The motive behind the hack is yet to be established, but observers say it raises concerns about the targeting of independent media voices online.
About The Author
