US government's vaccine website defaced with AI-generated content | TechCrunch
Jun 11, 2025 - techcrunch.com
A U.S. government website managed by the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) has been defaced and is now displaying AI-generated spam content. The site, intended to provide public information about vaccines, has been hosting content primarily focused on gay-themed and LGBTQ+ topics since at least May 12, as per archived versions. The responsible party and the motive behind this defacement remain unclear, though it appears to be part of a broader spam operation.
This operation also affects websites owned by NPR, Nvidia, and Stanford University, which redirect users to a nonsensical SEO spam page hosted on wowlazy.com. This incident is part of a pattern where official U.S. government domains have previously been hijacked to host scam ads and hacking services. Despite the severity of the issue, HHS has not responded to requests for comment from TechCrunch.
Key takeaways:
A U.S. government website about vaccines has been defaced to host AI-generated spam.
The defaced content includes gay-themed and LGBTQ+ posts and has been present since at least May 12.
The spam operation affects other websites, including those owned by NPR, Nvidia, and Stanford University.
The purpose of the defacement is unclear, and HHS did not respond to requests for comment.
