Elmo: Sesame Street character's X account hacked, anti-Semitic messages spread

An archived version of the X account showed several messages were posted Sunday afternoon. They were later deleted, although a link to a Telegram page apparently associated with the hack remained in the account's bio. Sesame Workshop, the nonprofit organization behind "Sesame Street," said an unidentified hacker was behind the messages.

"Elmo's X account was briefly hacked yesterday by an unknown hacker who posted disgusting messages, including anti-Semitic and racist ones," a spokesperson said in a statement. "The account has since been secured," the source added.

The hack of Elon Musk's X platform is the latest in a string of hate speech incidents since the billionaire bought Twitter in 2022 and removed moderation policies he deemed censorship. On Saturday, his startup xAI apologized for anti-Semitic posts on X by its AI assistant Grok , which praised Nazi dictator Adolf Hitler.

Anti-Semitism has been under increased scrutiny in the United States since two Israeli embassy staff members were killed outside a Jewish museum in Washington in May. A Molotov cocktail attack on a rally in support of Israeli hostages in Gaza in June in Colorado (west) injured more than a dozen people, and an 82-year-old woman died of her injuries.