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Chicago Tribune
Chicago Tribune
National
Megan Crepeau and @crepeau

BRIEF: UPDATED: U of C student admits to hacking hoax

Nov. 25--A threatening incident that the University of Chicago originally said was the act of a hacker has been ruled a hoax.

The supposed hacking victim, a U of C student, has claimed responsibility for the incident, admitting that he or she posted an explicitly threatening message to the student's Facebook page and claimed it was a hack.

"There are still many facts to be learned. But it became clear that nobody broke into the Facebook account in question, and that in fact the posting was not the anonymous threat against a student that it first appeared to be," the University stated in a post to its website, which also confirmed that the supposed victim admitted being responsible for the Facebook post.

The Facebook incident occurred last week, after a petition circulated requesting the university address its alleged "culture of racial intolerance." The threatening message was posted to the student's profile, and the message mentioned one student activist, Vincente Perez, by name. Perez, who co-wrote the petition, is a friend of the student behind the hacking hoax.

Perez did not respond to requests for comment.

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