Hackers blamed for antisemitic posts on Elmo's X account

The makers of Sesame Street say hackers were behind "disgusting" antisemitic messages that appeared on Elmo's X account.

A string of posts calling for the extermination of Jewish people appeared on the verified page, which has about 650,000 followers, on Sunday.

Other messages attacked US President Donald Trump and called for files relating to sex offender Jeffrey Epstein to be released.

Sesame Workshop, the non-profit organisation that makes the children's programme, said an "unknown hacker" had gained access to the account.

"Elmo's X account was compromised by an unknown hacker who posted disgusting messages, including antisemitic and racist posts," a spokesperson said.

"We are working to restore full control of the account."

The antisemitic posts were posted on Elmo's account in quick succession and called for all Jewish people to be "exterminated".

They also made derogatory comments about Trump and allegations about his connections to Jeffrey Epstein.

The disgraced financier had powerful connections and died in prison in 2019 while awaiting trial for sex trafficking charges.

One of Elmo's posts called on Trump to "RELEASE THE FILES" following an announcement last week that the US Department of Justice and FBI found no evidence of a list that could implicate high-profile associates of Epstein's.

His death is at the centre of a number of conspiracy theories and while he was campaigning to be elected, Trump had promised to publish files about what happened.

The posts on Elmo's account come after X's boss, Linda Yaccarino, stepped down as the platform faced criticism for an increase in antisemitic content.

Billionaire Elon Musk, who owns X, also had to explain last week after its AI chatbot, Grok, praised Adolf Hitler - the Nazi leader responsible for the murder of millions of Jewish people in the Holocaust.

The UK's Action Fraud said there was a rise in social and email accounts being hacked last year, with more than 35,000 reports.

It advised users to set up two-step verification alongside a strong, unique password.

Elmo is one of Sesame Street's best-known characters and has been teaching children about kindness since the 1980s.

A number of puppets from the long-running US kids' TV show have a presence on social media and Elmo has had an account on X, formerly Twitter, since 2012.

In 2024 the he went viral on X for asking "How is everybody doing?"

The post, which is still pinned on the profile, had almost 20,000 replies with lots of users sharing their despair about the world.

No more posts have been shared on the account since the antisemitic posts were removed.

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