Pedestrians in Seattle were shocked Wednesday early morning when crosswalk signals started transmitting an uncommon political message: a spoof recording professing to be Amazon owner Jeff Bezos slamming regional tax obligation plans.
Citizens shared on X the automated messages, which dipped into numerous hectic crossways throughout the city for hours. One message assessed by ABC Information showed up to imitate Bezos by stating: “Hi, I’m Jeff Bezos, this crosswalk is funded by Amazon Prime with a crucial message. Please do not strain the abundant. Or else, all the various other billionaires will certainly transfer to Florida also.”
The unapproved recordings, which seemed a type of political objection, targeted several crossways in Seattle’s tech-heavy South Lake Union community and the dynamic College Area, the Seattle Division of Transport claimed.
Jeff Bezos goes to the 2025 Development Reward event in Santa Monica, Calif., April 5, 2025.
Mario Anzuoni/Reuters
The timing straightens with current conversations in the state legislature relating to a recommended tax obligation rise on homeowners with monetary possessions surpassing $50 million, according to Seattle ABC associate KOMO.
Senate Democrats in Washington state are promoting for tax obligation walkings targeting several of the most affluent people and firms to assist attend to a substantial deficit spending, which is approximated to be in between $6.6 billion and $13 billion, according to KOMO.
The strange messages likewise made a debatable referral to Luigi Mangione, that was butted in the top-level murder of UnitedHealthcare chief executive officer Brian Thompson in New York City City in December.
The Seattle Division of Transport claimed it replied to the areas where the counterfeit sound messages have actually been utilized, stating it had actually eliminated the recordings in all areas where the meddling happened.
” The audio recordings at crosswalks play an essential function for individuals that are blind or have actually restricted vision, aiding them to go across roads securely,” SDOT claimed in a declaration to ABC Information. “We are worried that somebody would certainly ignore individuals’s safety and security to make a political declaration. We take this issue seriously and have actually been functioning as quick as we can to react to the scenario. We are likewise collaborating with our supplier to discover more powerful safety and security actions to avoid future hacking.”
SDOT did not claim just how the crosswalks were hacked.
The Seattle Cops Division informed ABC Information it was an SDOT issue and was not performing an examination.
The case highlights continuous stress in Seattle over real estate price and the impact of technology firms in the area, KOMO reported.
Amazon did not react to ABC Information’ ask for talk about part of Bezos.
