On Sunday, hours after infamous (former) pharmaceutical executive Martin Shkreli pleaded his innocence to federal security fraud charges on Twitter, things got weird. First, his Twitter name was changed to "Martin the God," then he started tweeting out profanity-laced comments about the FBI, claimed "I am now a god," and pledged to give away the Wu-Tang Clan album he reportedly spent $2 million to buy exclusive rights to hear. Perhaps fishiest of all, he tweeted out: "Anyone want free money? Willing to donate hundreds of thousands to charities before I go to prison..."
But don't worry: Shkreli's Twitter account "was hacked," according to spokesman Craig Stevens, who added in an email to Reuters, "We have been working with Twitter to get it fixed." Shkreli was widely condemned for raising the price of a life-saving drug, Daraprim, to $750 a pill from $13.50, and he's out on bail for unrelated fraud charges.
Subscribe to The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.
Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
-
Carney and Trump come face-to-face as bilateral tensions mountIN THE SPOTLIGHT For his first sit-down with an unpredictable frenemy, the Canadian prime minister elected on a wave of anti-Trump sentiment tried for an awkward detente
-
What will be Warren Buffett's legacy?Talking Points Observers call him 'the greatest investor of all time.'
-
Art review: "Wayne Thiebaud: Art Comes From Art"Feature At the Legion of Honor, San Francisco, through Aug. 17
-
Warren Buffet announces surprise retirementspeed read At the annual meeting of Berkshire Hathaway, the billionaire investor named Vice Chairman Greg Abel his replacement
-
Trump calls Amazon's Bezos over tariff displaySpeed Read The president was not happy with reports that Amazon would list the added cost from tariffs alongside product prices
-
Markets notch worst quarter in years as new tariffs loomSpeed Read The S&P 500 is on track for its worst month since 2022 as investors brace for Trump's tariffs
-
Tesla Cybertrucks recalled over dislodging panelsSpeed Read Almost every Cybertruck in the US has been recalled over a stainless steel panel that could fall off
-
Crafting emporium Joann is going out of businessSpeed Read The 82-year-old fabric and crafts store will be closing all 800 of its stores
-
Trump's China tariffs start after Canada, Mexico pausesSpeed Read The president paused his tariffs on America's closest neighbors after speaking to their leaders, but his import tax on Chinese goods has taken effect
-
Chinese AI chatbot's rise slams US tech stocksSpeed Read The sudden popularity of a new AI chatbot from Chinese startup DeepSeek has sent U.S. tech stocks tumbling
-
US port strike averted with tentative labor dealSpeed Read The strike could have shut down major ports from Texas to Maine
