Mystery as YouTube creator’s finance livestream appears on White House website

YouTube Creator’s Livestream Takes Over White House Website, Raising Security Questions

The White House found itself in an unusual digital situation Thursday when a YouTube financial content creator’s livestream unexpectedly appeared on an official government website for at least eight minutes, prompting concerns about a potential security breach.

The incident occurred on whitehouse.gov/live, the official platform where the White House typically streams presidential addresses and official events. Instead, visitors to the site found themselves watching part of a two-hour-plus livestream from Matt Farley, who creates financial content under the username @RealMattMoney.

“We are aware and looking into what happened,” a White House spokesperson said in a brief statement following the incident. Officials have not yet clarified whether the website was hacked or if the video was accidentally embedded by someone with administrative access to the government site.

Farley, reached by The Associated Press on Friday, expressed surprise at the situation. “I had no idea what happened and learned about it after the fact,” he said, confirming he hadn’t been contacted by government officials regarding the incident. He joked that perhaps President Donald Trump and his youngest son, Barron, “are watching my streams and taking advice” on personal finance.

The content creator mused that he would have chosen different topics had he known his stream would appear on the White House website. “What would you talk about with the world for eight minutes if you had an opportunity?” Farley said with a laugh. “I’m just some guy making YouTube videos about stocks.”

This digital mishap adds to a growing list of cybersecurity challenges faced by the Trump administration and campaign over the past year. Just last month, federal officials opened an investigation after numerous elected officials, business executives and other prominent figures reported receiving texts and phone calls from someone impersonating Susie Wiles, Trump’s chief of staff.

The incident follows a more serious breach in 2023 when Iranian hackers infiltrated Trump’s presidential campaign. That attack resulted in the theft of sensitive internal documents, including a dossier on JD Vance compiled before his selection as Trump’s running mate.

Cybersecurity experts have repeatedly warned that government websites remain prime targets for both sophisticated nation-state actors and opportunistic hackers. These sites operate under strict security protocols, making Thursday’s incident particularly concerning for federal IT security teams.

The brief takeover of the White House livestream highlights ongoing vulnerabilities in government digital infrastructure at a time when online security threats continue to evolve. Government agencies typically employ multiple layers of protection for official websites, including access controls, regular security audits, and monitoring systems designed to detect unusual activity.

While this incident appears to have been relatively benign—merely displaying a financial content creator answering investment questions—it raises questions about what might have happened if someone with malicious intent had gained similar access to the White House platform.

Federal investigators will likely examine how the unauthorized content appeared on the site and whether it indicates deeper security vulnerabilities that could be exploited in the future. The White House has not provided a timeline for when they expect to complete their investigation into the incident.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.