On Wednesday, New York Times columnist Paul Krugman claimed he was hacked with child pornography.
“Well, I’m on the phone with my computer security service, and as I understand it someone compromised my IP address and is using it to download child pornography,” Krugman posted.
The columnist then suggested a conspiracy theory group dubbed “Qanon” planted the child porn.
“I might just be a random target. But this could be an attempt to Qanon me,” he wrote.
Krugman added, “It’s an ugly world out there.”
The tweet from Krugman has since been deleted, but a screenshot of the post is below:
NYT‘s Paul Krugman claims he was hacked w child porn pic.twitter.com/hoNDqpIao1
— Amanda (@AmandaPresto) January 9, 2020
After the bizarre tweet raised eyebrows and prompted folks online to ask questions, Krugman backpedaled hours later.
“The Times is now on the case,” he wrote via Twitter, eventually adding: “Deleted original tweet. Times thinks it may have been a scam. Anyway, will have more security in future.”
Deleted original tweet. Times thinks it may have been a scam. Anyway, will have more security in future
— Paul Krugman (@paulkrugman) January 9, 2020
Questions still swirled online.
“If I found out someone downloaded child porn using my IP address I would immediately hire a lawyer, file a police report and call the FBI,” posted Breitbart’s John Nolte. “I would NOT try to massage the PR problem on social media.”
“Krugman is Unbelievable,” Nolte, a former Daily Wire writer, added.
If I found out someone downloaded child porn using my IP address I would immediately hire a lawyer, file a police report and call the FBI.
I would NOT try to massage the PR problem on social media.
Krugman is Unbelievable.
— John Ocasio-Nolte (@NolteNC) January 9, 2020
“Child pornography is an extremely serious matter. Has FBI or NYPD been contacted about this? [New York Times PR]???” asked New York Post’s Jon Levine.
Child pornography is an extremely serious matter. Has FBI or NYPD been contacted about this? @NYTimesPR ???
— Jon Levine (@LevineJonathan) January 9, 2020
Epoch Times writer Adrian Norman said he was “noticing a pattern,” highlighting a 2018 post from Krugman about “live sex cams.”
“Oh, joy. I got a notification that someone tried to sign me up for a site that offers ‘live sex cams,'” the Times columnist wrote in November of 2018. “I’m sure whoever is engaging in this harassment are very fine people.”
“If one of these attempts succeeds, advance notice: it wasn’t me,” he said.
Oh, joy. I got a notification that someone tried to sign me up for a site that offers "live sex cams". I'm sure whoever is engaging in this harassment are very fine people. If one of these attempts succeeds, advance notice: it wasn't me.
— Paul Krugman (@paulkrugman) November 15, 2018
I’m noticing a pattern here with Paul Krugman. https://t.co/DW36u0ltvH
— Adrian Norman (@AdrianNormanDC) January 9, 2020
Computer engineer and Daily Wire contributor Harry Khachatrian told The Daily Wire Krugman’s first tweet concerning his IP address was “unclear.”
“His IP address being compromised can suggest a whole host of things,” Khachatrian said. “His IP address being compromised could suggest that someone outside his home network discovered his IP address. But that wouldn’t be his IP address. It would be the address of his home router, assigned to him by his ISP (internet service provider). That’s his public IP address. His own, personal computer’s IP address is called a private IP address and is invisible to the outside world.”
“Hacking someone via their public IP address is no easy feat,” he explained. “While it is possible that someone got a hold of Krugman’s public IP, the likelihood of them then proceeding to somehow use it to ‘download child pornography’ (on Krugman’s own computer) is incredibly low.”
“Far more likely that if they someone managed to obtain his IP and meander past his network security, they would be after personal banking information and financial statements,” added Khachatrian.