AI Chatbot Exploit Leads to Hijacking of 34K Instagram Accounts

WHO:

New York Times - Approximately 34,000 Instagram accounts were affected, including Obama's White House account.

CNET - Hackers were involved in the exploitation of the AI chatbot.

WHAT:

New York Times - The attack led to the hijacking of around 34,000 Instagram accounts and the changing of over 3,500 usernames.

CNET - The exploit allowed hackers to con a chatbot to hijack 20,000 Instagram accounts.

WHERE:

New York Times - The incident involved Instagram, a platform owned by Meta.

WHEN:

CNET - The exploit has been fixed by Meta, but no specific date for the fix was provided.

WHY:

New York Times - The flaw in Meta's AI chatbot allowed unauthorized access to Instagram accounts.

HOW:

New York Times - The exploit was tied to a bug in Meta's new artificial intelligence software.

(UPDATED June 9, 2026 21:30 UTC)

Hackers exploited a bug in Meta's new artificial intelligence software, leading to the hijacking of approximately 34,000 Instagram accounts, including Obama's White House account, and the changing of over 3,500 usernames. The exploit allowed these hackers to con the AI chatbot into taking control of around 20,000 accounts on the platform. While Meta has fixed the issue, they have not provided a specific date for when the fix was implemented.