Elmo is a red, furry Sesame Street Muppet known for being a cute kids’ character who advocates for kindness, so you can imagine the world’s shock when his official X/Twitter account started spreading a string of hateful, violent posts.
This isn’t the first time Elmo’s social media activities have made the headlines. Last year, the puppet checked in with netizens, asking, “How is everybody doing?” Let’s just say the responses were far from positive.
It turned into a bit of a trauma dumping session, with comments like “suffering” and “the world is burning around us, Elmo.”
But now, Elmo’s online presence has taken a far more disturbing turn, and unlike last time, this wasn’t a wholesome viral moment gone sideways. Warning: some may find this content distressing.
Yes, Elmo’s official X account was compromised in a cyberattack, with hackers briefly gaining access to the verified page before Sesame Street producers were able to intervene.
The controversy unfolded on Sunday, July 13, when the account began sharing antisemitic slurs, conspiracy theories, and violent language.
Among the most disturbing tweets – all of which have since been deleted – was one that read, “Elmo says all Jews should die,” and another promoting the false claim that “Jews control the world.”
Elmo’s 600,000 followers also witnessed a series of other inflammatory posts, including one alleging that “Donald Trump is Netanyahu’s puppet because he is in the Epstein files”.
This is a reference to documents naming individuals connected to the late sex offender Jeffrey Epstein. Notably, X owner Elon Musk made a similar claim about Trump last month, which he later deleted.
The hacker went further, pushing cryptocurrency content and responding to backlash with racist and transphobic remarks. The offensive activity reportedly lasted around an hour before the tweets were scrubbed.
Sesame Workshop, the nonprofit organization behind the kids’ TV show, said in a statement (via The New York Times): “Elmo’s X account was compromised today by an unknown hacker who posted disgusting messages, including antisemitic and racist posts.
“We are working to restore full control of the account.” The identity of the hacker remains unknown, but the incident has sparked outrage and shock across the platform.
“Hacking the official Elmo account gotta be one of the most diabolical things this app has ever seen,” wrote one X/Twitter user.
Some have linked the breach to wider concerns around the platform’s moderation tools. Last week, Musk’s AI chatbot Grok shared antisemitic content, including praise for Adolf Hitler. The company blamed the output on an “unauthorized modification.”
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