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Donald Trump had allegedly been hit by a bullet, the BBC said
Earlier this morning BBC Northampton tweeted: "Breaking News: President Trump is injured in arm by gunfire. #Inauguration."
Fears the controversial US leader would be shot became a reality for the local radio station's listeners, with social media users quickly picking up the apparent world exclusive, with many saying they were shocked by the news.
However others showed their disbelief having watched the historic swearing-in ceremony of the new US President in Washington DC on Friday afternoon.
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The BBC caused alarm by saying Donald Trump had been shot
Breaking News: President Trump is injured in arm by gunfire
BBC Northampton
At 11.51am today, the East Midlands broadcaster had to quickly release a statement saying their Twitter account had been hacked as they apologised for any alarm caused.
Confused Twitter users questioned the tweet, with one asking: "Are you sure?"
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Police and demonstrators clash in downtown Washington after a limo was set on fire.
Another said: "Guessing you've been hacked? Not seen this ANYWHERE else!"
After a short period of confusion, the tweet was deleted and a clarification was sent out.
It read: "Message from OurMine: we detected unusual activity on this account, the account was hacked by someone and we are trying to fix the issue now."
A BBC spokeswoman, said: “BBC Northampton's Twitter account was hacked this morning.
"The tweet was removed quickly, as soon as we realised the situation. We are investigating and taking steps to ensure this does not happen again.”
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BBC Northampton were forced to tweet an apology
This morning's confusion came after the BBC suffered an embarrassing gaffe during its live coverage of Donald Trump's inauguration on Friday.
Subtitles on some viewers' screens were replaced with subtitles from children's show "The Dumping Ground", a Tracey Beaker spin-off.
Text reading “Oh whatever” and “mum will get into trouble” appeared on screen with Mr Trump’s face, and as the camera switched to Barack Obama, read: “Just shut it, yeah? Oi! Leave him alone!”
During the swearing-in ceremony, the subtitles read: “No one wants you here.
“You’re only in a mood because Mo’s gone.
“Just shut it, yeah? Oi! Leave him alone! Just tell him to get out of my face!”
The subtitles appeared as Cardinal Timothy Dolan delivered a prayer.
The BBC is investigating the mistake to try to find out whether the issue was regional, but said the issue was not a nationwide problem.
A Corporation spokesperson said: “We have not found any evidence or had other feedback from viewers that our main output covering the inauguration was subtitled incorrectly.”
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