“The New York Post has long fostered an ugly, toxic conversation on their front pages and social accounts, but these posts are more disgusting and vile than usual,” Hochul’s campaign said in a statement, posted by press secretary Jen Goodman. “The New York Post needs to immediately explain how this reprehensible content was made public. While the Post has made its preferences very clear in the New York Governor’s race, there is no room for this violent, sexist rhetoric in our politics. We demand answers.”

On Thursday morning, the New York Post Twitter account said that the publication was hacked. “We are currently investigating the cause,” the Post said in a tweet.

Shortly afterward, CNN’s Oliver Darcy tweeted a statement he obtained from the Post which said, “The New York Post’s investigation indicates that the unauthorized conduct was committed by an employee, and we are taking appropriate action. This morning, we immediately removed the vile and reprehensible content from our website and social media accounts.”

While the posts Hochul mentioned were deleted, many of them included a fake article about Hochul’s challenger, Lee Zeldin, making threats against Hochul. Other fake headlines made comments about Ocasio-Cortez and President Joe Biden.

In addition to Hochul, New York Representative Adriano Espaillat also responded to the Post’s initial tweet and said, “Violence against anyone is wrong. The threat of #cybersecurity is real… & we still don’t know what happened in 2016. I urge the NY Post & @Twitter to take immediate action to address today’s threats of violence & prevent future attacks.”

Earlier this week, Hochul faced off against Zeldin in a debate as part of the state’s governor race. Zeldin has continued to campaign with a top focus on crime in the state and New York City. In a previous poll conducted by Quinnipiac University, New York voters ranked crime as a top issue heading into the upcoming election.

A poll conducted by Civiqs published this week found Hochul holding a lead over Zeldin. According to the poll, 54 percent of voters sided with Hochul while 43 percent supported Zeldin.

“Both candidates have net negative favorable ratings. Hochul is viewed favorably by 40% of likely New York voters, and unfavorably by 50%. A similar share, 38% of voters, view Zeldin favorably, with 50% holding an unfavorable view,” the poll said.

Newsweek reached out to press contacts at News Corp., which owns the New York Post, for comment.