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Britney Spears strikes Charlie's Angels pose in defiant Twitter post after hacking hoax spread rumors she died

By Paul Chavez For Dailymail.com and Jj Nattrass For Mailonline

Published: 20:20 EST, 26 December 2016 | Updated: 09:01 EST, 27 December 2016

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Britney Spears took to Twitter on Monday and posted a defiant photo collage after a hacking hoax spread rumors that she died.

The 35-year-old pop star shared a collage of four pictures showing herself making funny faces while holding her thumb up and index finger out.

'Don't underestimate the power of Charlie's [angel emoji],' Britney wrote in the caption for her nearly 50 million followers on Twitter.

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Alive and well: Britney Spears took to Twitter on Monday after a hacking hoax spread rumors that she had died

The Toxic singer was referencing the pose first made famous in the 1970s TV show Charlie's Angels starring Farrah Fawcett, Jaclyn Smith and Kate Jackson.

Fans of the singer were no doubt left shocked, confused and upset earlier on Monday, when the global account for Sony Music tweeted she had passed away.

However a representative for Sony confirmed the tweets were part of a hack, saying: 'The twitter was hacked and the tweets are now deleted. Britney Spears is alive and well.'

The first initial tweet simply read: 'RIP @britneyspears #RIP 1981-2016.'

Hit show: Charlies Angels was a hit show in the 1970s starring Farrah Fawcett, Jaclyn Smith and Kate Jackson

'Britney Spears is ALIVE': Sony Music was forced to clarify that pop singer has not died after 'hackers' broke into their Twitter account on Monday

It was followed minutes later by a second tweet, which appeared to hint the account had been hacked, as it read:

'britney spears is dead by accident! We will tell you more soon #RIPBritney [sic].'

Less than an hour after the messages were posted to the social media site, fans and followers had retweeted both posts a collective 6,600 times.

Just a wind-up? A series of what appeared to be hoax tweets appeared on the site, and were shortly deleted after the group seemingly discovered a breach of security

However, as fans started to take to Twitter in droves, many questioned the validity of the tweets .

Some even stated outright the tweets had to be the work of hackers.

And just 40 minutes after the original tweets were posted, the Sony Music Global account seemingly confirmed it had been hacked, posting the message:

Not quite dead: A representative for Sony confirmed the tweets were part of a hack, saying: 'The twitter was hacked and the tweets are now deleted. Britney Spears is alive and well.'

She's alive: Just 40 minutes after the original tweets were posted, the Sony Music Global account seemingly confirmed it had been hacked - tweeting '@britneyspears is still alive'

'We saw a new IP logged in to the account a few minutes ago and the tweet is posted by a new IP so @britneyspears is still alive.'

MailOnline has contacted a representative for Britney Spears for comment on the matter.

The group Our Mine appears to be behind the Twitter hack, with the tweets signed off by the group, who have hacked several high-profile accounts this year.

Confused: Many fans were left confused when the hackers tweeted the message, with many hoping that it was all just a hoax

According to The Hollywood Reporter, the hacking group have been responsible for a number of security breaches on the Twitter accounts of both Marvel and Netflix.

According to the group's own website, Our Mine 'is an elite hacker group known for many hacks showing vulnerabilities in major systems'.

Bob Dylan’s account also appeared to have been the target of hackers, as the Nobel-winning musician’s account appeared to be the first to pick up on Britney’s death.

Another hack? Bob Dylan’s account also appeared to have been the target of hackers, as the Nobel-winning musician’s account appeared to be the first to pick up on Britney’s death

Good for Christmas: Only hours before the hack Britney had posted a video montage of her family enjoying activities on Christmas day

Rest in peace @britneyspears,’ was tweeted out from the account, a message which has since been deleted; no message from Our Min was posted to the account.

Just hours before the hack, Britney had been enjoying Christmas at home with her family, and had even posted a video montage of her and her family enjoying some festive fun.

Sharing a video of a family hunting trip and her boys ziplining with her 14.4million followers on Instagram, she wrote: 'Some good hunting and zip lining for the holidays! Merry Christmas!!'