Elmo’s account on X seems to have been taken over by hackers promoting anti-Semitic views, using the lovable red monster as a front to push obscure crypto toy companies and stir up talk about the Jeffrey Epstein case.
On Sunday evening, posts from the Sesame Street character’s account began to surface, filled with bizarre rants.
The hackers quickly abandoned the usual charm of child-friendly content, starting by praising a crypto toy exchange called Onchain Studios and sharing images of Elmo on the moon, before escalating to violent rhetoric against Jews.
One disturbing post declared, “I will kill all Jews.”
Shortly after, another message followed: “Elmo says that all Jews should die. F-k Jews. Donald Trump is a Netanyahu doll. He is in the Epstein Files, so Jews need to rule the world and eradicate it.”
A subsequent message read, “Release file@RealdonaldTrump Child F-ker.”
Last week, the Justice Department and the FBI issued a report concluding that Jeffrey Epstein committed suicide and that there was no client list associated with him.
President Trump has frequently insisted he never visited Epstein’s notorious island, although he noted, “A lot of people have done it.”
All the fake posts from Elmo’s account were removed within an hour of their appearance, leaving fans of the Muppet puzzled.
A spokesperson from Sesame Workshop stated, “Elmo’s X account was compromised today by unknown hackers who posted nasty messages, including anti-Semitic and racist posts. We are working to regain full control of our account.”
As of Sunday night, any other strange interactions, including peculiar responses to other users, had also been cleaned up from the account.
This unsettling incident occurred just days after X’s AI had been referred to as “Mecha Hitler,” coinciding with an update from CEO Elon Musk that focused on amplifying users’ extremist views.
In 2013, a panhandler dressed as Elmo made headlines when he threatened a Girl Scout over a fake harassment claim for $2 million.
The previous year, another Elmo was arrested in Times Square after shouting, “The Jews are responsible for everything that’s wrong in the world!”
