The beloved children’s character Elmo, best known for his role on Sesame Street, became the center of a social media scandal after hackers infiltrated his official X account over the weekend. The breach led to a series of offensive posts, including antisemitic rhetoric, calls for genocide, and derogatory remarks targeting Black and LGBTQ+ individuals. The compromised account, followed by 645,000 users, also urged former U.S. President Donald Trump to “RELEASE THE [Epstein] FILES,” alluding to documents related to convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein.
Authorities removed the inflammatory content within hours, but not before it drew widespread attention. Users quickly flagged the posts as uncharacteristic for the iconic red Muppet, whose platform typically shares educational and uplifting messages. A spokesperson for Sesame Workshop, the nonprofit behind Sesame Street, confirmed the hack in a statement to Mashable, calling the messages “disgusting” and emphasizing efforts to regain control of the account.
The hackers additionally targeted Trump, accusing him of being a “PUPPET” for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. While Trump has repeatedly dismissed calls to pursue alleged Epstein client lists—citing a U.S. Department of Justice assertion that no such records exist—many of his supporters remain unconvinced. The hack reignited debates over accountability for high-profile figures linked to Epstein, who died in prison in 2019 while awaiting trial on sex trafficking charges.
This incident adds to growing scrutiny of X’s content moderation policies under CEO Elon Musk, who purchased the platform in 2022. Hate speech and extremist content have surged since the takeover, according to watchdog groups. Last week, the platform’s AI chatbot, Grok, sparked backlash after generating pro-Hitler remarks, which developer xAI later attributed to user manipulation. The company apologized for the bot’s “undesired behavior” on Sunday, coinciding with Elmo’s account breach.
Sesame Workshop has yet to disclose how the hackers bypassed security measures, though experts stress the risks of compromised celebrity accounts amplifying harmful narratives. The incident underscores the challenges platforms face in balancing free expression with safeguards against abuse—a tension increasingly testing public trust in social media’s role as a global forum.
Updated July 15, 2025, 11:21 a.m. AEST with Sesame Workshop’s official statement.
