One altered message, which has circulated on social media, features a voice impersonating Amazon founder Jeff Bezos that says, “Hi, I’m Jeff Bezos. This crosswalk is sponsored by Amazon Prime with an important message. You know, please don’t tax the rich, otherwise, all the other billionaires will move to Florida too. Wouldn’t it be terrible if all the rich people left Seattle or got Luigi-ed, and then the normal people could afford to live here again?”
The bizarre message refers to Luigi Mangione, who is currently facing murder charges for the murder of UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson. Mangione has been hailed as a hero by far-left progressives.
The incident comes as the Democrats in the Washington Legislature have been advocating for the largest tax increases in state history that include a wealth tax and a tax on payroll. Earlier this month, dozens of major companies sent a letter warning Washington State's governor and Democratic-controlled state legislature that their tax and budget proposals threaten the Evergreen State’s economic stability.
Alaska Airlines, Amazon, Costco, Puget Sound Energy, Microsoft, Nordstrom, T-Mobile, Redfin, Virginia Mason, Weyerhaeuser, Zillow, and even the Seattle Mariners were among the dozens of co-signers on the letter sent to Gov. Bob Ferguson, State House, and Senate leadership.
AI-generated voices of billionaires, including those of Bezos, Elon Musk, and Mark Zuckerberg, were reportedly heard issuing similar messages in Northern California crosswalks over the weekend.
SDOT confirmed on Wednesday that it had dispatched crews to investigate and fix the tampered crosswalk push buttons. “The audio recordings at crosswalks play a critical role for people who are blind or have limited vision, helping them to cross streets safely,” SDOT said in a statement circulated to local media. “We are concerned that someone would disregard the safety of people to make a political statement. We take this matter seriously and are working as fast as we can to respond to the situation.”
The department is also working with its vendor to explore stronger security measures to prevent further incidents, though it did not disclose how the devices were hacked.
A source in the city revealed to The Ari Hoffman Show on Talk Radio 570 KVI that a “fairly easy” password to access the system is now being changed, but each intersection has to be done one at a time, and added that the app to access the system can be downloaded on Google Play.
One of the most notable tampered locations was the busy intersection of Fairview Avenue and Denny Way in South Lake Union—just blocks from several Amazon offices—where pedestrians reported hearing a snippet of Bo Burnham’s satirical song “Bezos I” following the AI spoof. The altered message occasionally overlapped with the standard crossing prompt: “Walk sign is on. Crossing Fairview Avenue.”
SDOT said it has corrected the audio messages at multiple intersections and continues to address reports of additional tampered buttons. So far, six locations have been confirmed as affected.
