Sesame Workshop regained management of its Elmo account on the X platform Monday after a hacker gained entry and posted a string of racist and antisemitic messages.
“Elmo’s X account was compromised by an unknown hacker who posted disgusting messages, together with antisemitic and racist posts,” Sesame Workshop, the nonprofit behind “Sesame Avenue” and Elmo, stated in a press release Monday.
The account was compromised over the weekend and as an alternative of the standard posts of encouragement and kindness, Elmo’s 650,000 followers got antisemitic threats and a profane reference to the Jeffrey Epstein intercourse trafficking investigation. These tweets had been quickly deleted.
X didn’t instantly reply to a request for remark.
Elmo’s social media account has these days turn out to be a spot for psychological well being consciousness. Final yr, the crimson fuzzy monster, eternally 3 ½, brought about a sensation when he requested: “Elmo is simply checking in! How is all people doing?” It prompted responses from then-President Joe Biden and Likelihood the Rapper.