Hacked accounts and a lottery win that wasn’t: When Twitter feeds the news cycle

Social media is many things: community connection, LOLs, it’s a problem-solver (like teaching you how to fall asleep faster), and an identity reinforcer. From a media company’s perspective, it’s a gem for mining news stories, and sometimes those stories originate from the social networks themselves.

Here’s how social media sites like Twitter and Facebook steered the news cycle this week:

 Twitter accounts followed by @realdonaldtrump hacked

.@realdonaldtrump makes headlines for offensive and outlandish tweets almost daily, so it was a bit surprising when his Twitter handle cropped up in the news for a decidedly different reason: of the only 45 accounts that he follows, two were hacked.

“You are hacked by the Turkish cyber army Ayyıldız Tim!” one tweet on former Fox News host Eric Bolling’s account read.

“We got your DM correspondence! We will show you the power of the Turk!”

Tweet This Click to share quote on Twitter: "We got your DM correspondence! We will show you the power of the Turk!"

The accounts posted pictures of Bolling’s personal messages, which included his email and phone number, reported Global’s Rebecca Joseph, and according to a screengrab posted on another of the hacked accounts, they messaged Trump, asking him to “share this video on your personal account.”

ALSO SEE: Election of ‘Twitter President’ Donald Trump ‘an enabling force’ for hate: scholar says

Viral tweet promising $5,000 from lottery winner a fake

A tweet promising retweeters $5,000 from a recent Mega Millions jackpot winner to the first 50,000 people, was shared 76,000 times. But, it’s actually a fake, as reported by Global’s Kevin Nielsen.

An impostor Shane Missler Twitter account, which has now been suspended, attempted to impersonate @TheShaneMissler, who did in fact win the “Mega Ball” jackpot on Jan. 5. But, unfortunately he ain’t sharing his winnings with his followers.

Facebook and YouTube pull Tide Pod videos

And in other social media news, a bizarre trend in which teens eat Tide Pods and share videos of themselves doing it onto social networks has the left the rest of the interwebs perplexed.

Social sites Facebook and YouTube reacted by removing the videos from their sites, saying the content is “dangerous” and poses an “inherent risk of physical harm,” as reported by Global’s Marilisa Racco.

1:57 Tide pod challenge a dangerous trend on social media

WATCH ABOVE: When it comes to swallowing potential poison, internet trends are quickly become worrisome for police and health professionals. Alexa MacLean explains.

Honorable mention: Canadian media responds to Facebook’s sweeping newsfeed changes

One story that hits particularly close to home for this media outlet: Facebook announced last Friday that they will tweak their algorithm to feature posts from friends and family more predominantly than posts from publishers. One small adjustment on the social network’s equalizer means huge effects for all publishers, including Global News.

1:11 What will the changes to Facebook’s algorithm mean?

WATCH ABOVE: Nicholas Thompson, the editor in chief of Wired Magazine, told CBS This Morning about what the sweeping changes to Facebook’s algorithm will mean for users.

ALSO SEE: Winnipeg man takes to social media in desperate plea for living kidney donor