A spokesperson for the publication told CNN in a statement that his "content management system account was hacked Tuesday night."
"As a result, two obscene and racist push notifications were sent to our followers on Apple News within a minute of each other. The messages are vile and not in line with Fast Company's content and ethics," the statement said. "We are investigating the situation and have closed FastCompany.com until the situation has been resolved.
The statement also said the hack was "apparently related" to a " FastCompany .com hack that occurred this Sunday afternoon, when similar language appeared on the site's home page and other pages. We shut down the site that afternoon." and we restored it about two hours later.
"Fast Company is sorry that such abhorrent language has appeared on our platforms and in Apple News, and we apologize to anyone who saw it before it was removed," the statement said.
People who tried to access the website were greeted by a 404 page on Tuesday night, indicating that the website was taken down completely. It was unclear how long the site would be down.
Apple News also addressed the incident in a statement posted on its Twitter account .
"An incredibly offensive alert was sent by Fast Company, which has been hacked," the company said. "Apple News has deactivated your channel."