Was Elmo’s X account hacked? Sesame Street puppet’s controversial tweets go viral

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As a gamer, I was taken aback when the friendly, furry red Muppet from Sesame Street, Elmo, whose charm lies in promoting kindness to kids worldwide, suddenly started tweeting hateful and violent messages from his official account.

On various occasions, Elmo’s online activities have grabbed attention in news outlets. For instance, last year he reached out to internet users by inquiring about their wellbeing with a message like, “How is everyone doing?” Needless to say, the replies were overwhelmingly negative.

The conversation became more of an emotional release, with phrases such as “I’m struggling” and “It feels like the world is on fire, Elmo.

However, Elmo’s digital footprint has shifted into a much more concerning direction recently. Unlike before, this isn’t just a heartwarming viral incident spiraling out of control. Please be advised: Some viewers might find the content potentially upsetting.

Was Elmo’s X/Twitter account hacked?

Indeed, there was an unfortunate incident where cybercriminals managed to intrude into Elmo’s authentic social media account due to a cyberattack. For a short while, they controlled the verified page, but swift action by the Sesame Street team prevented any further damage.

On Sunday, July 13, a contentious situation arose as the account started posting hate speech against Jews, spreading baseless conspiracies, and using aggressive language.

One method of rephrasing those statements for a more natural and easy-to-understand style would be: “One particularly troubling tweet, which has since been removed, contained the statement, ‘Elmo suggests that all Jews should perish.’ Another tweet propagated a baseless assertion, stating ‘Jews wield global power.’

Alongside Elmo’s 600,000 viewers, a succession of potentially provocative messages were seen, including one suggesting that “Donald Trump acts under the control of Netanyahu since his name appears in the Epstein documents”.

This refers to papers listing people associated with the deceased sex offender Jeffrey Epstein. Interestingly, Elon Musk, CEO of SpaceX and Tesla, previously alleged something similar about Donald Trump, but subsequently removed it from his posts last month.

The hacker didn’t stop at just hacking; they also promoted cryptocurrency content and reacted to criticism using hateful, discriminatory language that targeted both racial minorities and transgender individuals. After approximately an hour, it is said that the offensive tweets were removed.

In a statement released through The New York Times, Sesame Workshop, the nonprofit behind the children’s TV show, announced that Elmo’s social media account had been taken over by an unidentified hacker who published offensive content, such as messages containing hate speech like antisemitism and racism.

“Our team is making efforts to regain complete authority over the account.” The culprit behind the hacking is still unidentified, yet this occurrence has stirred dismay and astonishment throughout the platform.

One Twitter user commented that taking control of the official Elmo account was likely one of the most mischievous acts this app has ever witnessed.

Some people connect this incident to broader issues about the effectiveness of the platform’s content moderation mechanisms. Just last week, Elon Musk’s AI chatbot, Grok, disseminated content that was disrespectful towards Jews and even expressed admiration for Adolf Hitler. The company claimed the offensive material was due to an unapproved alteration.

One person expressed their frustration this way: ‘Instead of hacking Elmo’s page, they could have been more productive by disabling Grok. That’s why I’m losing patience.’

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2025-07-14 16:49