Former President Donald Trump’s eldest son announced his father’s death in what was later revealed to be a hacked X post.

‘I’m sad to announce, my father Donald Trump has passed away,’ stated the post on Donald Trump Jr’s hacked X (formerly Twitter) account at 8.25am on Wednesday.

‘I will be running for president in 2024.’

A spokesman for the ex-president quickly shot down the claim.

‘FYI: This is obviously not true. Don’s account has been hacked,’ wrote Andrew Surabian on X.

Trump Jr’s fake post was taken down about a half-hour later, but was already viewed more than 600,000 times. It was re-shared over 1,000 times within minutes.

Another hacked post stated: ‘This just in: North Korea is about to get smoked.’

And a pinned post hit at President Joe Biden using a racial epithet.

The hacker also addressed cryptocurrency entrepreneur Richard Schueler, also known as Richard Heart, whom the Securities and Exchange Commission charged with misappropriating investment funds running into the millions.

‘Richard Heart is innocent, when I become president I am going to burn the SEC,’ stated the post.

The ex-president on Wednesday morning did not address his son’s hacked account or posts, but wrote a series of attacks on his opponents on his Truth Social platform per usual.

‘If I would have made that speech yesterday at the United Nations, for all of the World to see, including the HORRENDOUS delivery, I would have been run out of politics!’ he wrote about Biden. ‘An EMBARRASSMENT to our Country.’

Trump Jr is far from the only high-profile social media user to have been hacked.

‘It is wise to assume that many, if not most, high-visibility individuals are subject to daily hacking attempts,’ American University communications studies professor Dr Aram Sinnreich told Forbes.

‘American individuals like Donald Trump Jr, who do business and socialize with leaders from antagonistic foreign powers, are even more vulnerable than most.’

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