An Instagram account tied to the Obama White House was hacked, and the post included an AI-generated image with the caption “The White House is under Shiites’ control,” TMZ reported. The account had not been updated since 2017 and has offered no statement.
By Sunday, an account that’s supposed to represent the Obama White House was pulled off its rails.
The Instagram page for the Obama White House was hacked, TMZ reported. The account—@obamawhitehouse—posted an AI-generated image paired with the caption, “The White House is under Shiites’ control.”
The account was last updated in 2017, and it has offered no statement on the hacking.
This isn’t the first time accounts connected to high-profile names have been hit in the same kind of wave. Obama’s Twitter account was previously hacked in July 2020. and the accounts of Elon Musk. Bill Gates. and Joe Biden were also compromised in that attack. In that incident. the accounts of Gates and Musk promised bitcoin payments to followers. as did the account of Kanye West.
At the time. the FBI told NBC News that it was aware of a “security incident involving several Twitter accounts belonging to high profile individuals. ” and acknowledged that the hackers seemed to want to “perpetuate cryptocurrency fraud.” The FBI also advised the public not to fall for the scam by sending cryptocurrency or money tied to the incident.
Other victims showed the breadth of the disruption. Jeff Bezos also saw his account hacked. and Amazon reportedly said the perpetrators promised to “give back to my community. ” according to the attackers. Twitter—now X—said at the time, “We are aware of a security incident impacting accounts on Twitter. We are investigating and taking steps to fix it. We will update everyone shortly.”.
The latest hacking lands in a longer shadow of concern about White House networks. In 2014. the Washington Post reported that hackers believed to be working for the Russian government had gained access to some unclassified computer systems at the White House. A White House official said then. “In the course of assessing recent threats. we identified activity of concern on the unclassified Executive Office of the President network. ” adding. “We took immediate measures to evaluate and mitigate the activity.”.
What ties these moments together isn’t a single headline—it’s the recurring pattern: high-profile accounts become entry points. attention becomes bait. and the public is left to sort through what’s real and what’s been fabricated. The caption on @obamawhitehouse is only one example of how quickly an account’s credibility can be traded for a post that draws shock before it draws explanation.
As of now, the Obama White House Instagram account has not responded publicly about what happened, or what steps are being taken next.
Obama White House Instagram hacked @obamawhitehouse AI-generated image Shiites’ control caption TMZ cybersecurity incident FBI crypto fraud advice July 2020 Twitter hacks Elon Musk account hacked Bill Gates account hacked Joe Biden account hacked Kanye West bitcoin scam promise Jeff Bezos account hacked Twitter X security incident statement 2014 White House unclassified network activity