London Daily

Focus on the big picture.
Saturday, Oct 18, 2025

HACKED Trump campaign website proclaims US president ‘involved in origin of coronavirus’ in apparent cryptocurrency scam

HACKED Trump campaign website proclaims US president ‘involved in origin of coronavirus’ in apparent cryptocurrency scam

US President Donald Trump’s website has been taken offline after a fake ‘seizure’ notice was posted on multiple pages, claiming the president had ‘spreaded’ fake news and was ‘involved in the origin’ of the Covid-19 pandemic.

While it featured the FBI and Justice Department logos, the announcement was written in broken English and without capitalizations, according to screenshots posted on Tuesday evening.

“[We] have evidence that completely discredits mr trump as president,” the notice said, “proving his criminal involvment [sic] and coorperation [sic] with foreign actors manipulating the 2020 election.”


It also claimed that “most internal and secret conversations strictly classified information is exposed proving that the trump-gov [sic] is involved in the origin of the corona virus.”


The notice appeared on multiple pages of the donaldjtrump.com site. Whoever was behind it posted two links to accounts of the cryptocurrency Monero, offering the public to pay them to share the alleged secret information, or not.


It was not up for long, however, as the site was quickly taken offline. As of 23:30 GMT, it was operational again, with no trace of the scam.

Soon after the website was restored, Trump campaign communications director Tim Murtaugh acknowledged the hack, saying the site was “defaced,” but that “there was no exposure to sensitive data,” as none is actually stored on the campaign page. He added that the Trump team is now working with law enforcement to “investigate the source of the attack.”


The attack on the campaign website comes amid a series of alternative media stories accusing Trump’s rival Joe Biden of being involved in shady business arrangements in China spearheaded by his son Hunter.

Mainstream media outlets have denounced the story as “Russian disinformation,” even though the US director of national intelligence said there was no evidence that was the case.

Last Monday, DNI John Ratcliffe and FBI Director Chris Wray accused Iran of sending fake emails posing as ‘Proud Boys’ and threatening Democrats in Alaska and Florida, and said Tehran had accessed some US voter information.

Back in 2016, Democrats accused Russia of hacking the DNC emails as well as the private email account of Hillary Clinton’s campaign chairman John Podesta, which were released by WikiLeaks ahead of the election. The accusations set off years of witch-hunting for “foreign meddling” in US politics.

Back in August, someone had redirected the domain Antifa.com to point to Biden’s campaign site. The prank quickly attracted conspiracy theories about – what else – Russian involvement.

Newsletter

Related Articles

0:00
0:00
Close
S&P Downgrades France’s Credit Rating, Citing Soaring Debt and Political Instability
Ofcom Rules BBC’s Gaza Documentary ‘Materially Misleading’ Over Narrator’s Hamas Ties
Diane Keaton’s Cause of Death Revealed as Pneumonia, Family Confirms
Former Lostprophets Frontman Ian Watkins Stabbed to Death in British Prison
"The Tsunami Is Coming, and It’s Massive": The World’s Richest Man Unveils a New AI Vision
Outsider, Heroine, Trailblazer: Diane Keaton Was Always a Little Strange — and Forever One of a Kind
Dramatic Development in the Death of 'Mango' Founder: Billionaire's Son Suspected of Murder
Two Years of Darkness: The Harrowing Testimonies of Israeli Hostages Emerging From Gaza Captivity
EU Moves to Use Frozen Russian Assets to Buy U.S. Weapons for Ukraine
Europe Emerges as the Biggest Casualty in U.S.-China Rare Earth Rivalry
HSBC Confronts Strategic Crossroads as NAB Seeks Only Retail Arm in Australia Exit
U.S. Chamber Sues Trump Over $100,000 H-1B Visa Fee
Shenzhen Expo Spotlights China’s Quantum Step in Semiconductor Self-Reliance
China Accelerates to the Forefront in Global Nuclear Fusion Race
Yachts, Private Jets, and a Picasso Painting: Exposed as 'One of the Largest Frauds in History'
Australia’s Wedgetail Spies Aid NATO Response as Russian MiGs Breach Estonian Airspace
McGowan Urges Chalmers to Cut Spending Over Tax Hike to Close $20 Billion Budget Gap
Victoria Orders Review of Transgender Prison Placement Amid Safety Concerns for Female Inmates
U.S. Treasury Mobilises New $20 Billion Debt Facility to Stabilise Argentina
French Business Leaders Decry Budget as Macron’s Pro-Enterprise Promise Undermined
Trump Claims Modi Pledged India Would End Russian Oil Imports Amid U.S. Tariff Pressure
Surging AI Startup Valuations Fuel Bubble Concerns Among Top Investors
Australian Punter Archie Wilson Tears Up During Nebraska Press Conference, Sparking Conversation on Male Vulnerability
Australia Confirms U.S. Access to Upgraded Submarine Shipyard Under AUKUS Deal
“Firepower” Promised for Ukraine as NATO Ministers Meet — But U.S. Tomahawks Remain Undecided
Brands Confront New Dilemma as Extremists Adopt Fashion Labels
The Sydney Sweeney and Jeans Storm: “The Outcome Surpassed Our Wildest Dreams”
Erika Kirk Delivers Moving Tribute at White House as Trump Awards Charlie Presidential Medal of Freedom
British Food Influencer ‘Big John’ Detained in Australia After Visa Dispute
ScamBodia: The Chinese Fraud Empire Shielded by Cambodia’s Ruling Elite
French PM Suspends Macron’s Pension Reform Until After 2027 in Bid to Stabilize Government
Orange, Bouygues and Free Make €17 Billion Bid for Drahi’s Altice France Telecom Assets
Dutch Government Seizes Chipmaker After U.S. Presses for Removal of Chinese CEO
Bessent Accuses China of Dragging Down Global Economy Amid New Trade Curbs
U.S. Revokes Visas of Foreign Nationals Who ‘Celebrated’ Charlie Kirk’s Assassination
AI and Cybersecurity at Forefront as GITEX Global 2025 Kicks Off in Dubai
DJI Loses Appeal to Remove Pentagon’s ‘Chinese Military Company’ Label
EU Deploys New Biometric Entry/Exit System: What Non-EU Travelers Must Know
Australian Prime Minister’s Private Number Exposed Through AI Contact Scraper
Ex-Microsoft Engineer Confirms Famous Windows XP Key Was Leaked Corporate License, Not a Hack
China’s lesson for the US: it takes more than chips to win the AI race
Australia Faces Demographic Risk as Fertility Falls to Record Low
California County Reinstates Mask Mandate in Health Facilities as Respiratory Illness Risk Rises
Israel and Hamas Agree to First Phase of Trump-Brokered Gaza Truce, Hostages to Be Freed
French Political Turmoil Elevates Marine Le Pen as Rassemblement National Poised for Power
China Unveils Sweeping Rare Earth Export Controls to Shield ‘National Security’
The Davos Set in Decline: Why the World Economic Forum’s Power Must Be Challenged
France: Less Than a Month After His Appointment, the New French Prime Minister Resigns
Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán stated that Hungary will not adopt the euro because the European Union is falling apart.
Sarah Mullally Becomes First Woman Appointed Archbishop of Canterbury
×