Who hacked Elmo? Sesame Street character posts 'disgusting' antisemitic messages

Elmo, the furry Sesame Street character so universally beloved he recently went viral simply for asking people how they were doing, has been hacked.

Sesame Workshop, which makes the children's show, described the string of antisemitic, racist messages posted to Elmo's X account on Sunday as "disgusting."

The posts have since been removed, but widely circulated screen shots show a barrage of messages calling for extreme violence against Jewish people, as well as the release of files related to disgraced financier Jeffrey Epstein.

"Elmo's X account was briefly compromised yesterday by an unknown hacker who posted disgusting messages, including antisemitic and racist posts. The account has since been secured," a spokesperson told CBC News in an email statement.

Elmo, a verified account, has some 650,000 followers. His posts generally spread kindness and compassion, and he's become something of a therapist for the adults who follow him. Last year, a post that asked "how is everybody doing?" went viral, garnering nearly 20,000 responses from people sharing their thoughts and despair.

In October, Elmo's official X account shared a clip of a conversation on the children's program between the Muppet character and actor Andrew Garfield about grief, in which Garfield shares that he's been missing his mom, who died in 2019. The clip prompted an outpouring of support.

And during the U.S. election in November, Elmo again went viral, this time in a Sesame Street post that urged people to "Stop scrolling, take a deep breath, and use the next few minutes to escape to a place where the air is sweet." In the post, the camera pans past Elmo sitting quietly among potted flowers.

The Anti-Defamation League (ADL), a U.S.-based Jewish advocacy group, called the posts on Elmo's account "appalling."

"Loved on Sesame Street and beyond, Elmo has warmed the hearts of millions with his innocence and inquisitive nature. It's appalling that his official X account, known for spreading kindness, was hacked yesterday solely to spread violent antisemitism," the ADL posted on X Monday.

"Antisemitism on social media fosters the normalization of anti-Jewish hate online and offline, and contributes to an increasingly threatening environment for Jewish people everywhere."

Experts have reported a surge in antisemitic incidents and violence since war erupted in Gaza in October 2023. The ADL tabulated 9,354 antisemitic incidents across the United States in 2024, the highest number on record since they started recording incidents 46 years ago.

"Elevated antisemitism has become a persistent reality for American Jewish communities," the ADL said in its April report.

Last week, billionaire Elon Musk — who owns X — had to answer after his AI chatbot, Grok, appeared to make antisemitic comments that praised Adolf Hitler. Musk's artificial intelligence company said Wednesday it had taken down the "inappropriate posts."

"We are aware of recent posts made by Grok and are actively working to remove the inappropriate posts," the Grok account posted early Wednesday, without being more specific.

Musk later waded into the debate, alleging that some users may have been trying to manipulate Grok into making the statements.

WATCH | Canada sees sharp uptick in antisemitic, Islamophobic incidents:

After incidents at Jewish schools and synagogues, police have stepped up patrols in Canada's major cities. Hate crimes toward Jews and Muslims have increased significantly since the start of the Israel-Hamas war in October.