5 Things you need to know about the SmackDown hacker's Twitter account
For the past few months, SmackDown has been sporadically held hostage by a mysterious hacker, claiming "The truth will be heard."
Well, after several months of wondering and many theories about who the hacker maybe - including one from myself back in February - the storyline is most definitely now starting to progress at an alarming rate, and it would appear that no-one is safe!
The hacker's transition to social media was almost inevitable at this point and, after several fake accounts appeared mimicking the mysterious figure, we now have an official account of sorts. The hacker, of course, has already made their presence felt on Twitter, but now they have their own dedicated account.
An account named "The Message" with the handle TheMessageWWE would appear on Twitter last night, boasting a healthy following and posting a very official-looking vignette in the style of the ones we've witnessed on SmackDown over the past few months.
But it isn't verified, and WWE doesn't follow it - so how do we know it's legit?
Well, strap in, as I explore why the account is legit, why it's a must-follow account - and everything you need to know so far!
#5 "Joined October 2010"
While this is a "new" account, it actually isn't. The eagle-eyed would have spotted that the user joined in 2010.
When you research the account a little further, TheMessageWWE wasn't always the handle.
The account was previously StandUpForWWE - which was an official WWE anti-bullying campaign. While this alone would prove that the account has, at one point, been legitimate, it's also followed by The Corre’s account, run by WWE, as well as several former WWE Superstars who were part of the company in 2010 - such as Darren Young. The account's first tweet was also shared by the affiliated WWE on BT Sport account.
You can read more about Stand Up For WWE on the official WWE website here if you need your memory refreshed, but all you really need to know is that WWE created this Twitter account as a designated location for tweets regarding the campaign.
This was an intelligent move from WWE/the hacker for multiple reasons. Firstly, the account already had an established presence with around 100k followers before making their first post.
Secondly, it's genius to repurpose an old account in storyline. The account wasn’t in use as the campaign is now defunct, so having the hacker hack an old WWE account to gain extra access to a WWE audience only furthers the purpose of the hacker.