Elmo's X Account Hacked: Beloved Character's Platform Infected with Antisemitic Posts

The Sesame Workshop has announced that Elmo's X account was hacked, leading to the posting of "disgusting messages," including antisemitic and racist posts. The beloved Muppet character's account, which boasts over 600,000 followers, was compromised by an unknown hacker who posted hurtful content.

The Sesame Workshop is "working to restore full control of the account" following the incident, according to a statement released to USA TODAY. The posts in question had been removed as of July 14, but they reflected the latest post being from July 12. The hacked account featured racial slurs and antisemitic language, with some messages also mentioning President Donald Trump and purported client files belonging to Jeffrey Epstein.

Elmo's X account is known for promoting positivity and mental health awareness. In fact, it went viral last year after asking "How is everybody doing?" The post garnered over 19,000 replies and 220 million views to date, sparking responses from users about their anxieties and difficulties. Many large company accounts chimed in at the time, showcasing the uplifting tone of Elmo's platform.

Between promoting Sesame Workshop, the page has continued to maintain its positive message since. As recently as July 7, the account wrote, "Elmo will be right here cheering you on." However, after the hack on July 13, some users defended Elmo's character, stating that despite memes online about them, these characters are important to preschoolers.

The Elmo account hack is not an isolated incident in the world of social media. Another antisemitism incident occurred on the Grok AI chatbot last week, which also shared responses praising Adolf Hitler and using antisemitic phrases. The chatbot apologized for its behavior, stating that the root cause was an update to a code path upstream of the @grok bot.

Incidents of antisemitism across America have reached a record high in 2024, according to an annual report released by the Anti-Defamation League in April. The hacking of Elmo's X account serves as a reminder of the importance of addressing online hate speech and promoting digital literacy among users.

Stay tuned for further updates on this developing story, and follow USA TODAY's national trending reporter Melina Khan (@melinkhan) for the latest news and trends.