Sunday's hack of Elmo's official X account transformed the beloved Sesame Street character's platform from an educational space into a breeding ground for antisemitic hatred and political extremism. Within minutes, followers who expected wholesome content about friendship and emotions were instead bombarded with violent, inflammatory messages.
Guys... Elmo's doing coke again. pic.twitter.com/Gy4q21n0e7
— Mike (redacted) (@InmateMike) July 13, 2025
The hacked posts included statements such as "Kill all Jews," "Elmo says all Jews should die. F*ck Jews. Donald Trump is Netanyahu's puppet because he is in the Epstein files. Jews control the world and need to be exterminated," among other hateful content.
The compromised account also responded to other users with similarly crude replies, employing profanity, threats, and extremist language that shocked the platform's community.
Reactions poured in immediately, spreading like wildfire across social media. Thousands of users expressed shock, anger, and disgust. Many documented the tweets and shared them further, some out of disbelief, others as criticism of social media culture and the politicization of every possible space.
Within minutes, Elmo became the hottest trending topic online, generating responses ranging from sharp satire to genuine concern. The American political establishment didn't remain indifferent either. Senator Mike Lee (Republican from Utah) tweeted, "I am scarred forever by Elmo – words I never thought I'd say." Philip Lewis, deputy editor at The Huffington Post, wrote, "I thought we all agreed Elmo was off limits." Democratic Congressman Jared Moskowitz added ironically, "See what happens when you defund PBS."
Elmo got hacked by the spirit of Adolf Hitler. pic.twitter.com/syb9aqsFB6
— Mr. Olympian ?? (@asianoppar) July 14, 2025
PBS network, journalists, politicians, and numerous users joined the discussion – some with unequivocal condemnation, others attempting to turn the incident into bitter commentary about the state of social media.
Sesame Workshop, the organization operating Sesame Street, released an official statement explaining, "Elmo's account was hacked earlier by an unknown hacker who posted reprehensible messages, including antisemitic and racist content. We are working to restore full control of the account."
All problematic tweets were quickly deleted, but the damage was already done – hundreds of screenshots and thousands of responses made the incident viral and the number one trending topic. Public discourse continued bubbling far beyond social media boundaries.
The breach immediately became a political issue as well – not only due to the blatant antisemitism, but also because of direct attacks on Donald Trump, Benjamin Netanyahu, and the Jeffrey Epstein affair – a charged topic that continues to roil American public opinion.
This all unfolds against the backdrop of ongoing battles over PBS funding – the public broadcasting network that operates Sesame Street – as the Trump administration recently pushed for significant federal funding cuts to the network, a move that sparked public and legal protests.
