The Samoa Observer’s official Facebook account was hacked and administrators were locked out following a cyberattack on Tuesday evening, lasting almost 24 hours.

The Samoa Observer Facebook page has generated 48.5 million views since January this year making it one of the most visited in the region.

The Editorial Board took action by reporting the matter to Meta, the parent company of Facebook. Meta aided the newspaper in getting their official Facebook back.

“We took steps to let Meta know of what has happened and we are grateful for their response and help in retrieving the page,” said the Editorial Board.

“We realise the importance of the Facebook page in updating Samoans worldwide with accurate and reliable information especially when the nation is faced with multiple crises. A large number of people use Facebook to get information from Samoa Observer.

“We have also launched an investigation on how someone managed to hack the official Facebook page and we do not condone such actions. For us, our biggest concern was the use of the page to relay fake news and its possible use to run scams.”

The Samoa Observer Facebook page was created 15 years ago and serves as an archive and a rich resource for key moments in the nation’s history in pictures, videos and articles.

Samoa Observer’s website and other social media platforms, X (Twitter) and Instagram were not compromised.

While the Facebook page was under attack, people could still access the latest news and information on the Samoa Observer website, www.samoaoberver.ws.

The Editorial Board said this was concerning as the attack had disrupted the flow of reliable, fact-checked and accurate information to the people of Samoa.

The Board said this was also a reminder to people and organisations of the importance of cyber security measures to protect online resources.