Airbnb CEO Brian Chesky said his X account was hacked and a thread promoting real-world asset tokenization, which circulated for days, was written by an attacker and heavily AI-generated. Posted on July 14, the now-deleted posts drew more than 700,000 views before Chesky regained access on July 16-17 and disowned the content. The incident represents a shift from immediate token scams to narrative manipulation, where hijacked accounts are used to spread ideas rather than drain wallets.
The thread argued that tokenization could make buildings, bonds and funds easier to divide, trade and settle, and referenced Robinhood's push into tokenized assets. Crypto media outlets covered the posts as Chesky's own commentary before he reclaimed the account. "To the person who hacked my account earlier this week: thanks for all the new crypto followers," Chesky wrote after regaining access. "To my new crypto followers: I'm going to be a very disappointing follow."
AI Detection Firm Flags Machine-Generated Text in Deleted Thread
AI-detection firm Pangram flagged the text as machine-generated, pointing to a uniform syntactic pattern built to imitate Chesky's cadence. The thread named no token sale, wallet address, giveaway or investment link, which made the compromise convincing and allowed it to circulate as apparent thought leadership. Airbnb reported the incident to X, which secured the account. How the attacker gained access and who was responsible remains unclear.
SpaceX and Binance Accounts Also Targeted in Recent X Hacks
The breach occurred amid a run of high-profile X hacks aimed at crypto audiences. Days earlier, hijacked SpaceX and Starlink accounts pushed a memecoin called SCATMAN, with the attacker minting and dumping the supply for about $125,000. In December, Binance co-founder Yi He's WeChat account was hacked and used to promote a fraudulent token. In April, X said it would start auto-locking accounts posting about crypto for the first time, a direct response to this wave of hijack-driven scams.
FAQ
What did the hacker post on Brian Chesky's X account?
The attacker posted a thread on July 14 promoting real-world asset tokenization, arguing it could make buildings, bonds and funds easier to divide, trade and settle, and referencing Robinhood's push into tokenized assets. The thread drew more than 700,000 views before Chesky regained access on July 16-17 and deleted it.
How was the Airbnb CEO's thread identified as fake?
AI-detection firm Pangram flagged the text as machine-generated, pointing to a uniform syntactic pattern built to imitate Chesky's cadence. The thread also lacked typical scam signatures like token sales, wallet addresses or investment links, which initially made it appear credible.
What other high-profile X accounts were hacked recently?
Days before the Airbnb incident, hijacked SpaceX and Starlink accounts pushed a memecoin called SCATMAN, with the attacker dumping the supply for about $125,000. In December, Binance co-founder Yi He's WeChat account was hacked to promote a fraudulent token.
