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White House hacked? Fact-checking X, Instagram posts that sparked speculation amid Iran war
The White House posted a video on its X and Instagram accounts, which was a dark screen with the sound of a notification ping audible, prompting hacking buzz.
The White House posted a video on its Instagram and X handles. However, the nature of the post sparked speculations about whether the social media handles had been hacked.
The video showed a dark screen before a notification sound can be heard. Then some images, although distorted and indiscernible, appear in the clip. The incoherent nature of the videos from the Donald Trump administration sparked speculations about the White House social media handles being hacked.
White House social media hacked? Posts spark buzz
Several people reacted to the posts wondering if the accounts had been hacked.
“Has the White House been hacked?,” one person asked on X, while sharing the video. Another added “The office White House X account tweeted this strange post 45 minutes ago. Were they hacked?”.
Yet another said “The official White House account is either a) hacked or b) announcing something through a cryptic message like it's the fucking WWE. We're not a real country anymore. This is embarrassing on so many levels.”
Fears of hacking come amid the ongoing war with Iran and after Israel and US strikes took out their Supreme Leader Ayatollah Khamenei, law enforcement has been on the alert about possibilities of an attack on home soil.
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However, there is no indication that the White House handles have been hacked.
Grok fact-checked the claims saying "The White House X account isn't hacked—it's under the current Trump admin, which updated the bio with a direct quote from his 2025 inaugural address. They posted (then quickly swapped) a short clip of a woman saying "launching soon?" for what seems like a test of their new text alert system (USA to 45470). It glitched into this black screen version with sound-on emojis. Staff error, not a breach. Common with rushed social tests."
The White House has, however, not provided any clarification about the post.
Meanwhile, another page speculated “Both videos are also on the White House’s Instagram, suggesting that this is not some kind of accident or hack, these videos, whatever they may mean, are being intentionally shared by the Trump Administration.”
A person also took a still from the clip and shared their observations.
“Second cryptic video from the White House - distorted footage of an American flag at night with glitch artifacts,” they noted. The purpose of the clips is not clear yet.
White House deletes ‘launching soon’ clip
The posts have fueled speculation after another strange upload was made from the White House handle. A female individual could be heard saying “it's launching soon right?”. Social media profiles have speculated whether said person could be White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt.
However, the video has now been deleted from the White House handle.
