Wendi Deng Twitter account found to be fake

(CBS/AP) A Twitter account purported to be linked to Wendi Deng, the wife of media mogul Rupert Murdoch, has turned out to be a fake.

Twitter spokeswoman Rachel Bremer said Tuesday that the site "mistakenly verified" the "Wendi_Deng" account as genuine for a short time. She said the company apologizes for the confusion.

Bremer said Twitter would not discuss its verification procedures, which are put in place to prevent hoaxes.

While Deng's account was fake, the Twitter account opened over the New Year's weekend by News Corp. chief Rupert Murdoch was genuine, reports News International spokeswoman Daisy Dunlop.

It wasn't immediately clear why the person set up the hoax, but late Monday Twitter said they hoped Murdoch and his wife would have a better 2012.

The last year has seen Murdoch, 80, embroiled in a British phone hacking scandal that has threatened his global media empire.

His wife was by his side when he testified about the scandal before Parliament in July, and she stepped in to slap down a protester who tried to douse Murdoch with a cream pie. Deng's quick action to protect her husband was captured on video and soon was spread on the internet.