Just when the world is admiring the wholesomeness of Superman in cinemas, someone else has proven that there really is nothing sacred these days. Fans following the account of Sesame Street’s kind and gentle little red Muppet Elmo must have felt like they had fallen into a disturbing pocket dimension featuring an alternate version of the character when they were faced with an expletive-filled trade of abuse aimed at President Trump and antisemitic rants calling for the death of all Jews.
Although it does not detract from the shocking nature of the posts, the source of the messages was not actually Elmo himself, but a hacker who took control of the account to share the comments. All posts have now been deleted, and regular service on Elmo’s X account has resumed.
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The issue happened on Sunday evening, when, out of nowhere, a post appeared demanding excessive violence against Jews, claiming that Benjamin Netanyahu is under the control of Trump, and that files related to the Jeffrey Epstein case should be released. Following the incident, a spokesperson from the Sesame Street Workshop told CNN.
“Elmo’s X account was compromised by an unknown hacker who posted disgusting messages, including antisemitic and racist posts. We are working to restore full control of the account.”
The Hack on Elmo’s Account Drew Plenty of Reactions
Naturally, the subject of the posts that appeared on the official Elmo account, and subsequent ones reacting to regular users’ replies which turned into racist jabs, didn’t pass without plenty of screenshots being taken, and a subsequent analysis by seasoned X users that at times became just as abusive as the original content.
Many replies to posts sharing images of the messages were short and to the point, actually agreeing with some parts of the content. However, others condemned the idea that someone would actively hack an account primarily aimed at children to share such abusive posts. In turn, this led one person to point out an obvious issue with the whole scenario and ask the question: why does Elmo, a character aimed at preschool children, have social media accounts anyway?
Regardless of the whats and whys about Elmo having access to an X account, the fact still remains that the world is in a pretty dark place when someone is willing to take over such an account to share their troubling views on subjects that really are not meant for the kind of audience scanning Elmo’s usually upbeat messages and bright happy pictures. It could obviously have been much worse, but thankfully, control of the account has been restored to the Sesame Street Workshop.
The Anti-Defamation League (ADL), a U.S.-based Jewish advocacy group, shared their reactions to the posts on X, slamming the person behind the hack. They wrote: “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. 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.”
Sesame Street recently underwent some changes after HBO and Max opted out of renewing the contract with the long-running children’s TV series. Thankfully, Netflix came riding to the rescue of the show – as they so often do – and will now be the new official home for the series after its 50 years on PBS.
Source: CNN