The official X account of Sesame Street character Elmo was compromised Sunday in a cybersecurity breach that resulted in a series of antisemitic, racist, and politically charged messages, including references to President Donald Trump and other inflammatory topics.
A spokesperson for Sesame Workshop confirmed the account hack in a statement to Daily Mail on Sunday evening.
“Elmo’s X account was compromised today by an unknown hacker who posted disgusting messages, including antisemitic and racist posts,” the spokesperson said.
“We are working to restore full control of the account.”
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The X account, under the handle @elmo, has been active on the platform since November 2012 and is followed by more than 639,800 users.
The account is used primarily for promotional material and character-driven messaging consistent with the Sesame Street brand.
On Sunday, however, followers noticed a dramatic shift in tone as a series of unauthorized posts surfaced containing antisemitic rhetoric and calls for violence.
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One message falsely accused President Donald Trump of being controlled by Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, saying, “DONALD TRUMP IS NETANYAHU’S PUPPET BECAUSE HE IS IN THE EPSTEIN FILE.”
Another post directed at President Trump read, “RELEASE THE FILES @readDonaldTrump,” and included a slur.
BREAKING: Official Elmo account hacked pic.twitter.com/a4SxYU0NdA
— Insider Paper (@TheInsiderPaper) July 13, 2025
That post, along with others, was deleted shortly after it began circulating widely.
Additional messages from the account included a racial epithet aimed at Black people and a transphobic insult in response to users who criticized the hacked posts.
BREAKING – Elmo’s official X account was hacked and began posting messages like this before they regained access and wiped all hacked replies and posts. pic.twitter.com/HhiNAcOTFH
— Right Angle News Network (@Rightanglenews) July 13, 2025
One user who indicated they were muting Elmo’s account received a reply containing offensive language that drew further backlash.
The incident quickly trended across X as users reacted to the hijacking of a character long associated with children’s programming.
“Hacking the official Elmo account gotta be one of the most diabolical things this app has ever seen,” one user posted.
Other reactions included comparisons to rapper Kanye West’s previous controversial posts on X, which have since been deleted.
“Kanye and Elmo should collab sometime,” one user joked.
Another asked, “Who let Kanye on Elmo’s account?”
One user posted an image meme of Elmo standing in front of flames — a long-circulating internet image — to summarize the chaos unfolding on the account.
Someone hacking the Elmo account certainly was not on my Bingo card for 2025 — never was there a better time for the use of this GIF
(Check the account at your own peril)#Elmo #ElmoHacked #TickleMeNotElmo pic.twitter.com/weUCVo0DUQ
— Ryan Voutilainen (@RyanVoutilainen) July 13, 2025
A number of users focused on the broader implications of the hack.
“This is a real tweet from the Elmo X account. It has since been deleted,” one user wrote.
“We’re dealing with depraved immoral sociopaths who target even a beloved children’s character in order to incite violence and hate against Jews.”
This is a real tweet from the Elmo X account. It has since been deleted.
We’re dealing with depraved immoral sociopaths who target even a beloved children’s character in order to incite violence and hate against Jews. pic.twitter.com/Z6xezjuRfA
— The Persian Jewess (@persianjewess) July 13, 2025
X has not released a public statement as of Monday morning regarding the breach, and it remains unclear how long the unauthorized access lasted or what technical vulnerabilities may have been exploited.
Sesame Workshop has confirmed it is working with platform officials to identify the source of the hack and secure the account.
As of the latest update, control of the account has reportedly been restored, and the offensive content has been removed.
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