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Sesame Workshop regains control of Elmo's hacked X account after racist posts

Sesame Workshop regained control of its Elmo account on the X platform Monday after a hacker gained access and posted a string of racist and antisemitic messages.

The Associated Press
July 15, 2025 at 2:00AM
FILE - Elmo of the film "Being Elmo" poses for a portrait in the Fender Music Lodge during the 2011 Sundance Film Festival in Park City, Utah on Jan. 24, 2011. (Victoria Will/The Associated Press)

Sesame Workshop regained control of its Elmo account on the X platform Monday after a hacker gained access and posted a string of racist and antisemitic messages.

''Elmo's X account was compromised by an unknown hacker who posted disgusting messages, including antisemitic and racist posts,'' Sesame Workshop, the nonprofit behind ''Sesame Street'' and Elmo, said in a statement Monday.

The account was compromised over the weekend and instead of the usual posts of encouragement and kindness, Elmo's 650,000 followers were given antisemitic threats and a profane reference to the Jeffrey Epstein sex trafficking investigation. Those tweets were soon deleted.

X did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

Elmo's social media account has lately become a place for mental health awareness. Last year, the red fuzzy monster, eternally 3 ½, caused a sensation when he asked: "Elmo is just checking in! How is everybody doing?'' It prompted responses from then-President Joe Biden and Chance the Rapper.

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