Federal government employees experienced shock when a surprising incident occurred in their workplace causing widespread internet response.
HUD Department employees in Washington DC observed an unusual television broadcast during their morning cafeteria meal on February 24th 2025.
Former President Donald Trump appeared in a video with tech billionaire Elon Musk in an indecent position for several minutes on screen to the surprise of HUD employees.
The broadcast spread throughout the internet after it went public while startling multiple officials and workers.
The bizarre clip depicted Trump kneeling before Musk and kissing his feet, with a bold caption overlay that read: “LONG LIVE THE REAL KING.”
The staff watched the modified deepfake video advertisement play over and over again until they finally figured out how to terminate its broadcast.
Individuals working in the building struggled to handle the situation while the video looped continuously for about five minutes.
Building officials tried to cut off the broadcast by removing plugs from televisions across several floors because they did not have any direct broadcast override method.
The news reporter Rachel Cohen became one of the very first individuals to document the news event. Cohen posted a short clip online about the video footage where Trump showed affection to Musk’s feet in the Department of Housing and Urban Development cafeteria during breakfast hours.
There are critical cybersecurity dangers for government institutions because of advancing and increasingly accessible artificial intelligence technology.
The original use of deepfakes as internet humor now faces serious security challenges because they can disrupt institutional computer systems.
Several people speculate about both the origin of the stunt as well as what motivation existed to single out HUD for this hacking incident.
The incident showed itself as either political satire against the administration or a joke from inside the agency along with potential attempts to damage its operation.
The incident damages our perception about the potential consequences of digital manipulation techniques.