Hacker impersonating Elmo makes anti-Semitic posts on X

A hacker shared a string of racist and anti-Semitic posts from the social platform X account of Elmo, the fuzzy red monster from Sesame Street, the owner and producer of the children’s show said on July 14.

The posts, on a verified account with more than 600,000 followers, contained racial slurs, anti-Semitic language and commentary about US President Donald Trump and the so-called Epstein files, the remaining investigative documents of the sex-trafficking investigation into Jeffrey Epstein.

The posts were removed shortly after they were published on the afternoon of July 14.

“Elmo’s X account was compromised today by an unknown hacker who posted disgusting messages, including anti-Semitic and racist posts,” a spokesperson for Sesame Workshop, the non-profit organisation behind Sesame Street, said in a brief statement. “We are working to restore full control of the account.”

Elmo, the perpetually 3½-year-old beloved Muppet character on Sesame Street, often teaches his young audience life lessons like kindness and patience.

Elmo’s account had not posted any new messages as at midnight. X could not immediately be contacted for comment.

Law enforcement officials and advocacy organisations have described a recent surge in hate speech in the US, especially anti-Semitism.

Experts say anti-Semitism has risen sharply since Hamas led an attack on Israel in 2023, killing more than 1,000 people.

The Israeli military has killed more than 58,000 people in Gaza since then, according to the Gaza Health Ministry, in its bid to destroy the militant group.

The Anti-Defamation League, a Jewish advocacy group, recorded 9,354 anti-Semitic incidents across the US in 2024, the highest number on record and a 344 per cent increase over the previous five years.

These included online incidents where individuals or groups were harassed on social media or via direct messages, although the organisation said it did not attempt to assess the total amount of anti-Semitism online.

“Elevated anti-Semitism has become a persistent reality for American Jewish communities,” the organisation said in its report about the 2024 incidents.

In early June, a man

threw Molotov cocktails at a Jewish group

calling for the release of hostages in Gaza. One of the victims later died of her wounds. Prosecutors charged a man with first degree murder and a hate crime, among other offences.

The previous month,

two employees of the Israeli Embassy in Washington were fatally shot

outside an event at the Capital Jewish Museum. A man was later charged with crimes that included first-degree murder.

And in April, a man

set fire to the Pennsylvania Governor’s mansion

on the first night of Passover, forcing Governor Josh Shapiro, who is Jewish, to flee with his family. NYTIMES