SAN FRANCISCO (Reuters) – Thomson Reuters has dismissed Matthew Keys, the deputy social media editor of Reuters.com who was indicted on charges of aiding members of the Anonymous hacking collective, Keys said in a Twitter message yesterday.
Thomson Reuters spokesman David Girardin said that Keys was no longer with the company, effective yesterday, and declined further comment.
Keys was indicted in March by a federal grand jury in Sacramento, California, on three criminal counts alleging that he helped members of the Anonymous collective hack into computer systems of the Tribune Co. The alleged events occurred before he joined Reuters, the indictment indicated. He has maintained his innocence, and his arraignment is scheduled for today.
In his job at Reuters, Keys posted news from Reuters and other sources on both company Twitter feeds and other means, including his own Twitter account. He was suspended from Reuters after last month’s indictment and his access to his Reuters email account was cut off. He continued to tweet from a personal account, @TheMatthewKeys, and identified himself as an editor at Reuters.
