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A falsified video created by artificial intelligence that depicted President Donald Trump kissing the feet of Elon Musk was reportedly displayed on TVs throughout the headquarters of the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) on Monday morning, causing staff to be dispatched to unplug the affected devices.
The incident was picked up by multiple media outlets including The Hill, The New York Times and The Washington Post. Images and videos of the scene have been shared on social media, with text over the depiction that reads “Long Live the Real King,” according to video viewed by HousingWire.
The video appeared in HUD’s offices at the Robert C. Weaver Federal Building on the first day of a return-to-office initiative announced by the president and spearheaded by HUD Secretary Scott Turner. Musk leads the U.S. DOGE Service inside the White House, and he has been given authority by Trump to issue deep cuts to the federal workforce. Several of the edicts handed down by DOGE are being challenged in court.
“Leaders could not immediately identify how monitors had been hacked to display the images, and ended up simply unplugging several devices, according to two people familiar with what transpired,” the Times reported.
In a statement issued by HUD spokesperson Kasey Lovett to multiple outlets, she called the incident “another waste of taxpayer dollars and resources” and vowed that “appropriate action will be taken for all involved.”
The event comes as reports suggest that HUD is on the verge of large cuts to its existing staff. Over the past 10 days, reports have emerged that as much as half of HUD’s staff could be cut and that 40% of the staff at the Federal Housing Administration (FHA) is facing dismissal.
Separate reports suggest that HUD’s Office of Community Planning and Development would see the vast majority of its staff terminated, and that cuts across Ginnie Mae have led to worries about a disruption in the mortgage market. A HUD spokesperson previously disputed the severity of reported cuts.
The incident also occurred two days after Musk and DOGE issued a directive for all federal workers to respond to an email asking them to recount their work progress for the week, or risk dismissal.
A union representing more than 5,000 HUD workers has already issued a cease-and-desist order to the department over the directive, saying that it violates federal law and the agency’s collective bargaining agreement while creating privacy risks for workers.
