AI-Generated Video Prank Disrupts HUD Headquarters Amid Federal Workforce Tensions

Hacker Hijacks Screens at HUD HQ to Play Disturbing AI Video of Trump, Musk

Protest sign outside the Capitol on Feb. 17 (Credit: Chip Somodevilla / Staff / Getty Images News via Getty Images) Those reporting to work at the Department of Housing and Urban Development's (HUD) Washington, D.C. headquarters this morning got an eyeful as someone appeared to have hacked displays at the building to display an AI-generated video of President Trump. The clip showed a looping video of Trump sucking on Elon Musk's toes behind an overlay that said: "Long live the real king." It's a play on Trump posting "love live the king" to Truth Social last week after revoking federal approval for New York City's controversial congestion pricing law. (That's still in effect as NY Governor Kathy Hochul challenges the decision, CBS News reports.) Some comments on social media call the prank funny and amusing, while others condemned it as immature and gross. Either way, it's certainly an interesting wrinkle in the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) agenda as employee morale tanks across DC, following Musk's email to all employees over the weekend asking them to email him five things they worked on last week or get fired. No one has taken credit for the video yet, but the stunt coincides with all HUD employees being ordered to return to the office today. The video played on a loop for about five minutes on screens throughout the building, according to independent journalist Marisa Kabas. Staffers "couldn't figure out how to turn it off so sent people to every floor to unplug TVs," Kabas says. Mass layoffs are planned for HUD this week. Musk's DOGE aims to cut 50% of the agency's staff, or around 4,000 jobs, the AP reports. Neither Musk nor Trump have acknowledged the video on social media. On Saturday, Trump said he would like to see Musk "get more aggressive" with his agenda to reduce the federal workforce and cull funding for its programs.

Fake video of Trump kissing Musk's feet displayed at HUD office in Washington

Elon Musk listens as President Donald Trump speaks in the Oval Office of the White House on Feb. 11.Jim Watson / AFP - Getty Images Some employees at the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development were greeted by an unusual sight in their offices Monday: a fake video of President Donald Trump with his mouth on the toes of his billionaire adviser Elon Musk. The video was displayed on internal television monitors at the HUD headquarters in Washington, D.C., according to two HUD employees who confirmed the prank to NBC News. The video appeared to have been created with the help of artificial intelligence and poked fun at the power dynamic between Musk and Trump. It showed an AI likeness of Trump massaging and kissing the feet of someone resembling Musk, with a caption superimposed over the video: "Long live the real king." The prank coincided with many federal employees returning to their offices this week, as Trump has sought to roll back the option to work from home. It also follows mass layoffs across the federal government, including at HUD, where some managers have been told to expect a 50% reduction in the number of agency employees. "Staff have viewed this as a sign of resistance that has brought a lot of joy," one HUD employee said. A second HUD employee said: "Everyone is talking and laughing about it." The two employees spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to speak publicly and they said they feared retaliation. Video and images of the HUD monitors were shared widely on social media, including by some official Democratic accounts. "Not all heroes wear capes," said an account on X associated with Democrats on the House Financial Services Committee. HUD Secretary Scott Turner's representatives condemned that reaction from House Democrats, writing in a post on X: "There is nothing heroic about abusing taxpayer resources." Kasey Lovett, a HUD spokesperson, added in a statement to NBC News: "Appropriate action will be taken for all involved." The White House did not immediately respond to a request for comment. Musk also did not immediately respond to a request for comment. Videos similar to the one displayed Monday were circulating on X as long as a week ago. The videos all show Musk with two left feet -- the kind of error that's a hallmark of AI-generated content.

AI video of Trump kissing 'King' Elon Musk's feet plays on loop in federal building

An AI-generated video showing Donald Trump kissing Elon Musk's feet played on a loop in the HUD cafeteria on Monday morning. Credit: Anna Moneymaker / Getty Images That was the text displayed on an apparently AI-generated video featuring Donald Trump groveling and kissing Elon Musk's feet that played on a loop at the federal Department of Housing and Urban Development headquarters on Monday. A clip of the AI video playing on a TV set in the HUD cafeteria in Washington, D.C., was posted by Vox reporter Rachel Cohen, who received the video from a source. The video was displayed on the same day that Elon Musk gave as a deadline for federal workers to send an email detailing five things they did last week or lose their job. Internet users have been sharing fake emails that have allegedly been sent to the government's Office of Personnel Management email address in order to troll Musk. The AI-generated video played at HUD appears to be another apparent act of protest from those who disagree with Trump and Musk's dismantling of federal agencies. According to Forbes, HUD spokesperson Kasey Lovett said that the video was "another waste of taxpayer dollars and resources" and "appropriate action" would be taken.

HUD TVs Hacked to Play Video of Trump Kissing Musk's Feet

On Monday morning, TVs throughout the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development headquarters in D.C. showed an A.I.-generated video of Trump sucking on the (alleged) DOGE leader's toes, with the message, "LONG LIVE THE REAL KING." (Last week Trump referred to himself as a monarch in a Truth Social post celebrating his administration's move to kill congestion pricing in New York City, writing, "LONG LIVE THE KING!") The video wasn't up for long. Journalist Marisa Kabas reports that building staffers couldn't figure out how to stop the disgusting HUD broadcast, so they just unplugged all the TVs in the building: So far no one has claimed responsibility for the hack, but presumably the HUD building is chock full of furious employees right now. Late last week the Associated Press reported that the Trump administration is looking to lay off half of the federal workers at the agency: The Trump administration's proposal to cut half of federal workers at the nation's housing agency is targeting employees who support disaster recovery, rental subsidies, discrimination investigations and first-time homebuyers, according to two documents obtained by The Associated Press. More than a dozen programs within the Department of Housing and Urban Development's portfolio would be affected by the loss of some 4,000 positions detailed in the documents, raising concerns among former HUD officials and housing advocates who say a skeletal staff could slow or even stall the department's critical work. HUD spokesperson Kasey Lovett on Thursday said the leaked documents "should not be taken as final" as staffing is evaluated throughout the agency. The documents, which aren't clearly dated but were circulated this week, include total staffing numbers, expected resignations, as well as a projected "Day 120 Headcount" and reduction percentage of staff at individual HUD offices. And over the weekend, Musk and DOGE-controlled Office of Personnel Management mass emailed 2.3 million federal employees directing them to list "approx. 5 bullets of what you accomplished last week and CC your manager" by the end of the day on Monday. Trump endorsed the move on Sunday by posting a SpongeBob SquarePants meme on Truth Social: While Trump and Musk -- who once described himself as "Chief Troll Officer" at Twitter -- are huge fans of shitposting, it seems the Trump administration didn't enjoy HUD's retaliatory trolling. "Another waste of taxpayer dollars and resources. Appropriate action will be taken for all involved," HUD spokesperson Kasey Lovett told The Hill. But what are they going to do? Fire half of HUD's staff and hobble the agency?

Hackers play video of Trump kissing Elon Musk's feet on cafeteria...

Cyberpunks breached a television at the Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) on Monday morning, broadcasting a stomach-turning AI video of President Trump caressing and kissing the feet of billionaire Elon Musk. The sickening sight, which was first reported by Vox journalist Rachel Cohen, was played on a TV in a cafeteria at the agency's headquarters while blaring the message: "LONG LIVE THE REAL KING." Congressional Democrats, lefty pundits and other critics have taken to calling the tech mogul "President Musk," in a seeming effort to irk Trump and highlight the Tesla and SpaceX CEO's level of influence in administrative decision-making. "Not all heroes wear capes," Democrats on the House Financial Services Committee cheered on X in response to the video. Recent public polling has shown that Americans believe Musk, 53, who is overseeing the Department Of Government Efficiency (DOGE) cost-cutting team auditing HUD and other agencies, has been given too much power in the executive branch -- even as voters broadly agree with the mission of the trimming the federal budget. It's unclear whether hackers or another party was responsible for the prank, but the footage appears to have been taken from an X post the week before. "Another waste of taxpayer dollars and resources," responded HUD spokeswoman Kasey Lovett in a statement. "Appropriate action will be taken for all involved." Trump, 78, invoked the royal title last week when his administration terminated a $9 congestion toll for New Yorkers entering Manhattan south of 60th Street. "Congestion pricing is dead. Manhattan, and all of New York, is saved. Long Live The King!" he posted Wednesday on Truth Social. The declaration led to an apparent AI creation by the White House itself, showing the 47th president crowned in a mock Time magazine cover -- with the name of the title changed to "Trump" -- and the Manhattan skyline looming behind him. DOGE claimed this month to have recovered $1.9 billion in HUD funds "misplaced" by the Biden administration -- and to have canceled at least $4 million in Diversity, Equity and Inclusion (DEI) contracts. "It is astounding how much taxpayer money can be saved with even a small amount of effort," Musk posted on X after sharing the funding amounts DOGE had recovered at HUD. Over the weekend, the X boss demanded that all federal employees explain in five bullet points what they accomplished last week. HUD Secretary Scott Turner told reporters earlier this month that officials were "working on a DOGE task force" to "maximize" the department's efficiency. "There is more to come," Turner said. "We're going to take inventory of all of HUD's programs and ensure every dollar that goes out of the door is advancing HUD's mission, which is to provide quality, affordable homes."

HUD Workers Greeted By AI Video Of Trump Licking Elon Musk's Feet

The video played on a loop for around five minutes while employees frantically unplugged the TVs. HUD spokesperson Kasey Lovett confirmed the clip did play at HUD in an email to HuffPost and called it "another waste of taxpayer dollars and resources." Lovett also pledged that "appropriate action will be taken for all involved." While HUD removed the video immediately, copies of the clip obtained by independent reporter Marisa Kabas went viral on BlueSky, as did other videos filmed elsewhere in the building. The roughly 5-second clip shows Trump rubbing Musk's feet and sucking on the multibillionaire's toes while Musk smiles approvingly in the background. In a sign that artificial intelligence maybe isn't quite as advanced as Silicon Valley would lead you to believe, Musk has two left feet. A text overlay in all caps reads, "LONG LIVE THE REAL KING." The text is a callback to Trump having declared himself a monarch last week, going so far as to share an illustration of himself wearing a crown: Trump and Musk's haphazard mass firings at federal agencies have caused chaos across the country. Documents shared with NPR show the Musk-led "Department of Government Efficiency" plans to lay off nearly half of HUD's staff, and 84% of the staff at HUD's Office of Community Planning and Development. Among other things, the office disburses more than $3.6 billion in rental assistance and funds for mental health and substance abuse treatment aimed at decreasing homelessness. Since its inception, DOGE has also accidentally fired scientists trying to prevent a national outbreak of bird flu, military veterans who run a national crisis line, and the people in charge of managing the country's nuclear weapons.

HUD screens hijacked to show Trump sucking Elon's toes

'Appropriate action will be taken,' we're told - as federal HR email sparks uproar, ax falls on CISA staff Visitors to the US Department of Housing and Urban Development's headquarters in the capital got some unpleasant viewing on Monday morning after TV screens across the building began showing a deepfake video of President Trump kissing and sucking Elon Musk's toes. The AI-generated footage had been circulating online over the weekend on social media, but the video was displayed on monitors at HUD on Monday morning, along with the message: "Long live the real king." (For those who don't know, that's a reference to Republican President Trump yelling on state social media the other day "long live the king," referring to himself as a monarch. Elon, meanwhile, was recruited by Trump to, under the DOGE project, run through federal organizations to cut programs, contracts, and thousands of staff the Tesla tycoon doesn't approve of, and thus has been likened by some as the real president of the United States, especially given this earlier baffling press conference in the Oval Office.) HUD staff reportedly resorted to unplugging the screens after failing to get the video removed from sight, and the agency is investigating. "Another waste of taxpayer dollars and resources," HUD spokesperson Kasey Lovett told The Register. "Appropriate action will be taken for all involved." The video is a pretty bad deepfake - Musk has two left feet for example, something not seen outside of comedy classic Best In Show. We've asked HUD for an explanation of how the video was spammed out to appear on the monitors, and will update as more information comes in. Staff might have reason to be peeved. According to documents seen by NPR, Musk's DOGE operation plans to slash the headcount at the agency. HUD deals with housing issues, homelessness, and supporting homeowners, and it's clear that someone in the org isn't keen on the current plans to slim down the workforce. This past weekend, federal government workers also received an email from the US government's HR outfit - the now-DOGE-directed Office of Personnel Management - that has ruffled some feathers, not least at HUD. The message, sent to as many as 2.3 million or more staff, asked them each to reply with a list of five things they had accomplished in the last week, cc'ing their managers, and a tweet from Musk claimed that "failure to respond will be taken as a resignation." The FBI, the State Department, FEMA, the DHS, and the Pentagon warned staff not to comply with these emails. There's also some doubt over the legality of sacking government workers on this basis, and also whether anyone would actually read all the replies or whether AI would be used to process it. Late Sunday, the SpaceX supremo shed some light on the alleged reasoning behind sending that demand, as push-back from officials grew and workers refused to participate or were ordered not to: Musk asked for the lists of accomplishments from millions of people because he wanted to see "who had a pulse and two working neurons." The billionaire seems to be under the impression fraudsters are collecting paychecks from the federal coffers for dead or ex-employees, and that some people aren't even checking their email. Asking more than a million people, some handling sensitive subjects, to reply to an email about their past week might also be seen as not a particularly productive use of time. The job cuts in the US civil service are continuing under DOGE's direction following an executive order for widespread cost savings, however. As we've noted, the National Science Foundation is facing potentially catastrophic staff losses and it is not alone. NASA, in particular, is facing uncertainty. It was just reported at least 130 people out of 3,000 or so at CISA are facing the ax, too. We've asked the cybersecurity agency to confirm, and it referred us to Homeland Security. The HUD video situation has now been resolved, in that there are no video screens displaying the material, we're told. ®

AI video of Trump and Musk screens at US gov office

The footage played on a loop for several minutes throughout the department's Washington headquarters, according to sources. A computer-generated video of US President Donald Trump licking tech billionaire Elon Musk's toes briefly played on video screens at the office of the US Department of Housing and Urban Development as staff returned to work on Monday. The bogus footage played on a loop for several minutes throughout the department's Washington headquarters, according to Marisa Kabas, an independent journalist who posted a video of the incident to social media. She cited an agency source. Washington Post journalist Jeff Stein also said on social media that the department's televisions had been hijacked. Reuters was unable to establish the video's provenance. "Another waste of taxpayer dollars and resources. Appropriate action will be taken for all involved," department spokesperson Kasey Lovett said in an email. Unpopular according to poll Musk's remaking of the American government, which he is carrying out through the so-called Department of Government Efficiency, is unpopular inside the civil service. A Reuters/IPSOS poll published on Sunday shows that 42% of the country supports the endeavor while 53% oppose it. The incident also comes amid concern over the power of machine learning technology - popularly known as artificial intelligence - to produce "deepfakes," convincing videos of celebrities and politicians in compromising or humiliating positions.

Trump kisses Musk's toes in AI video played on loop in government hack

US government agencies are broadcasting an AI-generated video of Donald Trump kissing Elon Musk's feet after their screens were apparently hacked. Televisions at the Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) showed the US president sucking and massaging Mr Musk's toes, with the caption: "Long live the real king." Mr Trump last week referred to himself as a "king" on his Truth Social platform after announcing New York's congestion fee would be scrapped. Staff were reportedly unable to work out how to stop the video, which had seemingly been generated by artificial intelligence (AI), and resorted to unplugging TVs throughout the building.