In an embarrassing lapse for the Bihar government, the verified X (formerly Twitter) account of the state’s Water Resources Department remained hacked for nearly nine months, during which a post glorifying Adolf Hitler and Benito Mussolini stayed online without officials noticing.
The controversial post, uploaded in February, praised the two dictators and described their ideology as “perfect.” The image used in the post labelled Hitler and Mussolini as “two of the most influential politicians of the 20th century.” It was deleted only on Monday, November 24, after the post went viral and citizens criticised the state for failing to monitor its own digital platforms.
Officials later admitted that the account had been compromised for months. Hackers had frequently changed the account’s name and username, leaving the department unaware of what was being shared in its name. Shockingly, the last legitimate post from the department was made more than nine months ago.
During the period of the breach, the handle amplified a bizarre selection of unrelated posts — including Portugal tourism photos, messages from Donald Trump’s Truth Social account, and even a picture commemorating Trump’s wedding anniversary with Melania Trump. None of the content had any connection to the functioning of Bihar’s Water Resources Department.
The incident has sparked widespread debate over the Bihar government’s digital oversight and cybersecurity preparedness. Many online users questioned how a major government handle could remain hacked for so long, especially when the offensive post was publicly visible for months. Critics called it a clear case of administrative negligence.
