A glitch on the White House website occurred Thursday evening when a financial advice livestream from a popular YouTube creator suddenly went live on the White House’s main video platform.
The question now for federal cybersecurity experts is whether someone successfully breached the government’s digital infrastructure or if an employee simply made a careless mistake. A White House spokesperson said they were “aware and looking into what happened.”
The portion of Farley’s broadcast that aired on the government website was just a segment of his full two-hour streaming session, in which he engaged with audience members who asked questions about personal finances and investment strategies.
Farley said in an interview after the livestream that he had no idea what happened and learned about it afterward.
He said no government representatives have yet contacted him and that he couldn’t explain what happened.
Farley maintained his sense of humor throughout his Friday livestream about the bizarre incident. He noted that if he’d known in advance about his unexpected government platform, he likely would have prepared entirely different remarks.
“Had I known, I would have been on the live stream for the White House, I would have talked about something completely different for eight minutes,” he said in the livestream.
When pressed about what alternative topics might have filled those eight minutes, he asked rhetorically: “What would you talk about with the world for eight minutes if you had an opportunity? I’m just some guy making YouTube videos about stocks.”
The YouTube creator even joked that perhaps President Donald Trump and his youngest son, Barron, might stumble upon his financial content and benefit from his stock market wisdom.
The glitch comes amid broader security concerns. Throughout the past year, multiple digital breaches have tested the Trump administration’s defenses. Government investigators launched a probe in May after discovering that someone had impersonated Susie Wiles, Trump’s chief of staff, sending deceptive text messages and phone calls to elected officials, business leaders, and other prominent individuals.
More serious was a 2024 cyberattack orchestrated by Iran, which penetrated Trump’s campaign infrastructure and extracted classified materials. The hackers distributed sensitive documents, including intelligence on Vice President JD Vance compiled before his selection as Trump’s running mate.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
