I'm thinking more and more that it won't be about hacking RV's account, but more, rather, about the stories being circulated through CR:s friends, or whoever helped CR to plan and execute this sting. If any friend gives an inkling that they knew about any of the fake stories thanks to them not having been properly clothed in secrecy - well, CR's case starts to look weak.
What I'm asking, is what made CR think that RV had leaked stories about her? Going back, I mean, to the time before the sting. If news is posted to a circle of, let's say fifteen people, then it could be any one individual from among them, or two or three - eg , on separate occasions and for different pieces of news, different 'friends' leaking ( well, not leaking, but blabbing to their other mates).
If CR had claimed to have told news to friends face-to-face, then there would be other clues as to who might have spilled the beans: non-verbal responses, or CR remembers exactly which specific facts she gave to which friend. Unlikely, isn't it, that CR would guess correctly, out of all those friends with all their younger star-struck teenage neices and sisters to gossip news about? It only makes sense to me that CR was tipped off. Then she collaborated to execute the sting, I think. Then she shared her fake news items with the journalist who was aiding her. It could have got about that way, through him or his contacts.