---
title: "Elmo's X account gets hacked, posts antisemitic and racist messages"
description: "WASHINGTON, July 14 (Reuters) - Hackers broke into the X account of Sesame Street character Elmo and posted antisemitic and racist messages, the makers of the children's TV show said on Monday."
type: "NewsArticle"
publisher: "Daily Maverick"
site: "https://www.dailymaverick.co.za"
section: "Newsdeck"
author: "Reuters"
author_url: "https://www.dailymaverick.co.za/author/reuters/"
canonical_url: "https://www.dailymaverick.co.za/article/2025-07-15-elmos-x-account-gets-hacked-posts-antisemitic-and-racist-messages/"
published: "2025-07-15T04:35:50"
updated: "2025-07-15T04:35:52"
lang: "en-ZA"
word_count: 157
---

# Elmo's X account gets hacked, posts antisemitic and racist messages

> WASHINGTON, July 14 (Reuters) - Hackers broke into the X account of Sesame Street character Elmo and posted antisemitic and racist messages, the makers of the children's TV show said on Monday.

By Reuters · Published 15 July 2025, 06:35 SAST · Updated 15 July 2025, 06:35 SAST

## Key points
- In a bizarre twist of digital fate, Elmo's X account was hacked to spew antisemitic rants and conspiracy theories, proving that even a beloved children's character can't escape the dark side of the internet—just ask the advertisers fleeing the chaos.
- Elmo's X account was hacked, leading to the posting of antisemitic and violent messages before being secured.
- The posts included insults towards President Trump and calls for the release of Jeffrey Epstein-related files.
- X, formerly Twitter, faces scrutiny over rising extremist content following reduced moderation since Elon Musk's acquisition.
- Advertisers are pulling away as the platform grapples with increased incidents of hate speech and inappropriate content.

## Content

By Kanishka Singh

The Sunday posts, which have been deleted, called for violence against Jews, insulted President [Donald Trump](https://www.reuters.com/world/us/donald-trump/) and demanded the release of government files on accused sex trafficker [Jeffrey Epstein](https://www.reutersconnect.com/all?search=all%3AL1N3T50V9&linkedFromStory=true) and his alleged clientele.

Elmo, a cheerful red Muppet, has more than 650,000 followers on X.

"Elmo's X account was briefly compromised by an unknown hacker who posted disgusting messages, including antisemitic and racist posts," Sesame Workshop said in a statement, adding the account has since been secured.

X came under scrutiny last week when the account of the Grok chatbot developed by billionaire Elon Musk's company xAI [produced content](https://www.reutersconnect.com/all?search=all%3AL6N3T604Y&linkedFromStory=true) with antisemitic tropes. The posts were subsequently removed and called "inappropriate" by Grok's X account.

Since Musk bought what was then known as Twitter in 2022, he has cut back on moderation. Extremist content has increased, causing some advertisers to pull away from the platform.

(Reporting by Kanishka Singh in Washington; Editing by Cynthia Osterman)