Horse of the Year Show (HOYS) organisers were left red-faced after inappropriate content was posted on its Facebook page by hackers.
The page was targeted yesterday evening (Monday 2 March) and the HOYS team is now unable to use the account. Fans were left outraged by the content posted.
Two uncharacteristic links have appeared on the page since the hackers gained access. The first, entitled “Zooey Deschanel is being sued for riding a horse too hard and injuring it” (pictured below), was posted at 1.30am this morning (Tuesday 3 March).
At 2.30pm a second link was posted entitled “Miley Cyrus goes topless and straddles a horse statue while holding a blunt in leaked new single cover” (pictured top), with a picture of Katie Price doing dressage.
These posts have shocked HOYS fans.
“What is HOYS thinking of?” said Paula French. Megan McAuliffe added: “Has someone hacked HOYS’ Facebook page? Why is there absolute rubbish being shared? HOYS, if this is you, you need to strongly rethink who you put in charge of your social media.”
HOYS has since confirmed that the account was hacked and an investigation is currently being undertaken as to how the hackers gained access.
“It is with great disappointment we announce the official HOYS Facebook page was targeted by hackers late last night,” said a spokesman.
“Facebook has been notified and we are in the process of rectifying the situation. The Facebook account will remain unaccessible to the HOYS team during the investigation period and we thank you in advance for your patience and understanding during this frustrating time.”
The team currently has no access to the account and all administrators have been removed.
The spokesman added: “You can help by reporting the page as being hacked to Facebook.
“If during the absence of the Facebook page you require further information regarding HOYS please contact press@hoys.co.uk”
