Obama’s Old Presidential Instagram Account Hacked, Strange AI Posts Appear

Barack Obama’s official presidential Instagram account dormant since he left office in 2017 was breached by a hacker who posted AI-generated images with Farsi text, raising fresh cybersecurity concerns around high-profile social media accounts.

Strange Posts Surface on a Long-Silent Account

Barack Obama’s presidential Instagram account the one he ran during his time in the White House was hacked over the weekend. The account had been completely quiet since January 20, 2017 the final day of his presidency. That long silence made the sudden appearance of new content all the more jarring for followers who spotted it.

It is worth noting that Obama himself runs a separate personal Instagram page today. The account that was targeted was his official presidential profile a digital relic of his time in office, essentially frozen in time for nearly a decade.

AI-Generated Image With Farsi Text Raises Eyebrows

The hacker did not just quietly poke around they published multiple posts on the account. Among them was an image generated using artificial intelligence, carrying a message written in Farsi. The text, when translated into English, read: “The White House is under the control of Shiites.”

“On Sunday, strange content appeared on Barack Obama’s official presidential page… It turned out to be the work of a hacker,” a report noted.

The posts drew immediate attention given the politically charged nature of the message and the high visibility of the account it appeared on.

Meta Steps In: Account Secured, Posts Deleted

A spokesperson for Meta the company that owns Instagram confirmed the hack after being approached for comment. The spokesperson said the company had regained full control of the account. All unauthorized content the hacker had posted was removed promptly.

No details about the identity of the hacker have come forward. It remains unclear how the attacker managed to access an account that had been inactive for almost nine years or what their ultimate motive was.