Officials have formally identified the hacker who displayed an AI-generated video of US President Donald Trump and Elon Musk on TVs within the Department of Housing and Urban Development, claiming that the perpetrator was 'escorted off the property'.
Elon Musk's close relationship with now-president Donald Trump has been well publicized since the richest man in the world joined the campaign trail months prior to the election last November.
Their bond is so strong that even Musk's own mother has commented on it, and the Tesla CEO proudly labeled himself 'First Buddy' and declared love for the president on his social media platforms.
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On the flip side, some have taken this relationship to be weighted in Musk's favor - especially after he seemingly strong-armed Trump into pushing an amended budget just before the end of 2024, leading some to coin the term 'President Musk'.
One individual has decided to interpret this relationship in their own way, however, as a 'disturbing' AI-generated video of Trump kissing and caressing Musk's toes was displayed on televisions inside the Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) canteen on Monday, as first reported by Rachel Cohen of Vox.
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The video, believed to be created and displayed by a hacker, had the text "LONG LIVE THE REAL KING" placed over the video, indicating that the creator believed that Musk holds the 'true' power in the current administration.
As per the New York Post, police officials have now identified the individual that distributed the video to the HUD screens, with a representative from the Department outlining:
"Yesterday, an individual was escorted off the property. Legal ramifications are being explored. Additionally, termination, or suspension of certain services are being explored as it relates to the department."
It's unclear who the perpetrator is, whether they were employed by the Department, and how they managed to infiltrate the displays, but many on social media have their own wild theories.
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"A disgruntled ex employee, I bet," indicates one user in response to the video, and this particular hypothesis seems to carry weight with many considering DOGE's targeting of federal services including Housing and Urban Development.
It's indicated that the Department of Government Efficiency has recovered $1,900,000,000 of 'misplaced' HUD money during the Biden administration, illustrating that these funds were 'no longer needed'.
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Social media strategist Devin Duke appears to have been the source of the original image, having created it - ironically - using Elon Musk's AI tool Grok in December 2024.
The subsequent video must then have been animated using this image as a source, but it's not clear whether the hacker was the one that created the video or whether they simply lifted it from another source and distributed it within the Department.