Elmo's viral LinkedIn layoff post debunked amid Trump-era public media funding cuts

A humorous yet fake LinkedIn post claiming Elmo's layoff due to federal budget cuts went viral before being debunked.

A viral LinkedIn post claiming that Elmo, the beloved Muppet from Sesame Street, was laid off due to federal budget cuts has been debunked.

The post, which circulated on social media platforms including X, amassed over 2 million views but was quickly revealed to be fake. The supposed message, written by Elmo, claimed that after 45 years of working at Sesame Street, Elmo was let go due to the defunding of public media, a result of President Trump’s recent budget cuts.

In the humorous post, Elmo expressed sadness about the job loss and mentioned missing his friends such as Big Bird, Cookie Monster, and Ernie. The post also humorously detailed Elmo’s skills, including his love of giving hugs, recognizing the letter "E," and singing “Elmo’s Song.” It concluded with a call for people to contact their local congressperson to save public media funding.

-Instagram.

The LinkedIn account, which appeared to be from "Elmo from Sesame Street," was later confirmed to be unverified and has since been taken down by LinkedIn. A spokesperson for Sesame Workshop, the nonprofit that produces Sesame Street, confirmed to Variety that the post did not originate from any official Sesame Workshop accounts.

This satirical post comes amid ongoing debates about federal funding for public media, particularly the funding cuts proposed by the Trump administration. Last week, President Trump signed an executive order blocking federal funding for PBS and NPR, accusing the networks of biased reporting. PBS responded by denouncing the executive order, calling it unlawful and a threat to educational programming that has served the public for over 50 years.

Sesame Workshop has long been a supporter of public media and has voiced its commitment to continuing its partnership with PBS to provide critical educational content to children. The issue of public media funding has also been a point of contention in congressional hearings, with conservative figures pushing to limit funding for institutions like NPR and PBS.