Republican Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene of Georgia shared a disturbing experience with her Twitter followers on Sunday.
“Last night in my DC residence, the television turned on by itself and the screen showed someone’s laptop trying to connect to the TV,” she posted on Twitter.
“Just for the record: I’m very happy. I’m also very healthy and eat well and exercise a lot. I don’t smoke and never have. I don’t take any medications. I am not vaccinated. So I’m not concerned about blood clots, heart conditions, strokes, or anything else,” she wrote.
“Nor do I have anything to hide. I just love my country and the people and know how much they’ve been screwed over by the corrupt people in our government and I’m not willing to be quiet about it, or willing to go along with it,” she wrote.
Greene tweeted a link to a report that shows there is a hidden privacy danger in “smart” TVs that are connected to the internet.
— Marjorie Taylor Greene 🇺🇸 (@mtgreenee) June 25, 2023
The FBI has said that the potential exists for smart TVs to be turned into devices that spy on their owners, according to a CBS report to which Greene posted a link.
“Beyond the risk that your TV manufacturer and app developers may be listening and watching you, that television can also be a gateway for hackers to come into your home,” the FBI warned.
“At the low end of the risk spectrum, they can change channels, play with the volume, and show your kids inappropriate videos,” the FBI said. “In a worst-case scenario, they can turn on your bedroom TV’s camera and microphone and silently cyberstalk you,” the FBI warned.
Some responded to Greene with concerns or support.
Smart TV? You may want to check your settings and turn on the security features like pass codes etc. believe it or not depending on how you set your TV up I may be able to get into it from a car in the street and activate the camera/microphone. You can have a technician remove…
— God Bless the USA (@tek22gbp) June 25, 2023
Someone was casting their screen to your TV. Make sure your devices aren’t visible to others. Look up how to set that for your devices.
— Karen Grube (@klgrube) June 25, 2023
Yep. This happens often.
Whenever we’re working on a FBI story, our devices stop working or start tweaking.
— Breanna Morello (@BreannaMorello) June 25, 2023
Newsweek found a source who could mock the tweet.
“Marjorie Taylor Greene’s tweet about her TV turning on by itself certainly seems bizarre, and it’s hard to say for sure what she meant by it. However, it does seem to play into her previous conspiracy theories about the government spying on her,” said Craig Agranoff, a political analyst.
“It’s also worth noting that Greene has sort of a history of making outlandish claims that have been debunked, so it’s possible that this is just another example of that,” he said.
I know that every “smart” tv has at least 4 cameras, my tv, every once in a while will ask me if I’m still watching…. WHY does it ask me?? they can’t see me sitting on my couch and I only stream