THE INSIDE SCOOP, WEB-WATCH

@BARTSIMSON_REAL Hacked?!?

BART SIMSON YUGOSLAVThe Twittersphere was in a tizzy today when a series of Tweets from @BARTSIMSON_REAL appeared to indicate the popular Twitter account had been compromised.

For those who don’t know, @BARTSIMSON_REAL aka “BART SIMSON YUGOSLAV” is the official Twitter account for Bart Simpson, who is real and Yugoslavian. Launched less than a month ago, the account has already gained over 3,000 followers and a writeup in the mainstream media (I’m also hearing rumors a book deal may be in the works). His Tweets have captivated the world and regularly burn up the retweet charts. A sampling of his output, for the uninitiated…

THE SIMSONS. IM BART, OFFICAL BART. REAL. MY DAD HOMTRE AND MAM IS MAGRE. BABY AND GIRL SITSER ARE OTHERS. BART SIMSON. OFFICAL YUGOSLAVIA SIMSON. THE SUMSONS.

EVRY DAY I SEE:: IN SKY,, WORDDS "”THE SIMSONS”" ….. ANGELS SINGS MY SURNAME;;^

•|• BART SIMSON «WARCRYE» "COWUBRANGEL??” •|• HOMTRE SIMSON «WARCRYE» "DOGHE!!" •|• MAGRE SIMSON «WARCRYE» *MOUTH RUMBLE///DISAPPROUVE* •|•

BART SIMSON; PERPETUÂLE 10 «TENE» YEAR SOLDE.,, SCIENTISS BAFFLED }}CONFUSE{{ — " WHY IS BOY ‘INFINIT” ? ASKS SCENCE• <AGE SERUM>

SLOBODAN MILOSEVIC INOCENT

Anyway, @BARTSIMSON_REAL sent out a series of bizarre Tweets this morning that appeared to indicate the account had been hijacked. The purported hijacker claimed to have found a Blackberry with the Twitter account outside a Belgradian homeless shelter. The lack of Yugoslavian accent marks and diacriticals have led many to believe the hijacker’s story, while others believe this may just be Bart Simpson pulling another one of his childish pranks on us.

The pundits were quick to weigh in: Michelle Malkin called the situation “not funny,” “tasteless,” and “moronic,” while Xeni Jardin over at Boing Boing insisted the possible prank had backfired.

As of press time, IN THE NEWS cannot confirm whether Bart Simpson is in control of his Twitter account. Our calls to Twitter, Fox Studios, and the Belgradian government have gone unanswered. We will update this story as events develop.

UPDATE: The situation appears to have resolved itself, to put it lightly. I have collected and embedded the full series of Tweets below so you can see for yourself: