- Airbnb CEO Brian Chesky’s X account was hacked to publish AI-generated posts promoting crypto tokenization.
- X removed the unauthorized posts and secured the account after Airbnb reported the high-profile compromise.
- Chesky joked that his new crypto followers would be “very disappointed” after he regained control of his account.
The X account of Brian Chesky, Airbnb CEO, was compromised in a cyberattack this week to publish posts promoting crypto real-world asset (RWA) tokenization.
Meanwhile, the unauthorized posts were later deleted after Airbnb alerted X, which classified the incident as a “high-profile compromise” and helped secure the account.
Notably, the compromised account published a thread expressing bullish views on real-world asset tokenization. One post claimed Chesky had been “quietly keeping an eye” on tokenization and suggested that while much of the sector was “noise,” significant developments were emerging beneath the surface.
The posts stood out because Chesky rarely comments on crypto despite being highly active on X, where he typically discusses Airbnb products.
AI Writing Raised Immediate Red Flags
Users questioned the authenticity of the thread, describing it as “AI slop”. Bloomberg journalist Joseph Weisenthal pointed to unusual writing patterns, while communications strategist Lulu Cheng Meservey said that executives risk damaging trust by publishing unfiltered AI-generated content.
Fortune reported that the AI detection platform Pangram analyzed the thread and classified it as 100% AI-generated.
Brian Chesky Regains Account: “I’ll Disappoint Crypto Followers”
Notably, the fake thread appeared as a reply to a post discussing Robinhood CEO Vlad Tenev’s recent comments on tokenized real-world assets, likely making the messages appear more credible.
Internal correspondence reviewed by Fortune showed that Airbnb notified X of the breach. X secured the account on Tuesday evening, allowing Chesky to regain control.
Chesky later commented on the incident himself, humorously thanking the new crypto followers who followed him after the hack. “To my new crypto followers: I’m going to be a very disappointing follow,” he remarked.
AI Slop Continues to Grow Across Social Media
The hack comes amid concerns over the spread of AI-generated content across social platforms. According to Pangram, approximately one-quarter of long-form social media posts are now AI-generated, while nearly half of X’s long-form Articles contain AI-written material.
Separately, Sprout Social found that 56% of users frequently encounter AI-generated “slop,” with Gen Z users proving especially likely to mute or unfollow accounts that repeatedly post such content.
The incident also highlights ongoing cybersecurity risks facing prominent executives. Previous high-profile social media breaches have affected Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg in 2016 and Twitter co-founder Jack Dorsey in 2019, underscoring the continued vulnerability of influential accounts to hijacking and misinformation campaigns.
Related: Crypto Hacks Hit Record 207 Incidents in H1 2026, Losses $972M
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