(credit: Twitter)

Rupert Murdoch, CEO of News Corp.,  joined Twitter earlier this week, the Associated Press confirmed.

The AP reported that News International “confirmed” that Murdoch is actually behind the tweets coming from @rupertmurdoch.

As the AP noted, Murdoch’s hooking up with social media prompted some jokes and tongue-in-cheek remarks about the phone hacking accusations against his UK newspapers.

For example, “former U.K. deputy prime minister” John Prescott commented to Murdoch’s account that he left Murdoch “a Happy New Year message on my voicemail.”

And, a parody account was set up at the handle @RupertMurdochPR (Not Rupert Murdoch). In a post on the Guardian’s Comment is Free section, Helen Lewis-Hasteley created her “top Twitter tips” for Murdoch, including a remark that Murdoch can “follow” people on Twitter instead of getting “private detectives to follow.”