As President Donald Trump contiguous returns to the White House, eyes volition besides beryllium connected 1 his closest pals - Elon Musk.
Billionaire Musk has formed a steadfast confederation with the twice-impeached US President successful caller years, and has made nary concealed of his loyalty to the MAGA movement.
And his vocal enactment of the divisive businessman turned person has taken Musk, 53, into almighty caller circles, with the tech mogul appointed arsenic co-lead successful Trump's caller Department of Government Efficiency.
Trump, who erstwhile blasted Musk arsenic a "bull**** artist" backmost successful little amicable times, has spoken warmly of his affection for the SpaceX entrepreneur, but not everybody is excessively keen connected this high-profile caller appointment.
Indeed, determination are those who've expressed superior interest implicit Musk's wont of spreading worrying misinformation with his legions of worshipping followers. Here, the Mirror takes a look astatine conscionable immoderate unfounded conspiracy theories circulated by Musk...
COVID misinformation
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POOL/AFP via Getty Images)Image:
AFP via Getty Images)Musk has dispersed a fig of mendacious claims astir COVID implicit the years, and his views connected this substance look to person shifted somewhat. In a 2021 interrogation with Time, Musk revealed helium and his children had been vaccinated, saying “the subject is unequivocal". However, helium clarified that helium was opposed to vaccine mandates, which helium regarded arsenic the “erosion of state successful America".
In December 2022, Musk appeared to telephone for Chief Medical Advisor Dr. Anthony Fauci, who was the look of the US effect to the pandemic, to beryllium prosecuted, posting: “My pronouns are Prosecute/Fauci." He besides tweeted a photoshopped representation of Fauci whispering successful President Biden’s ear, with the caption: “JUST ONE MORE LOCKDOWN MY KING…”
He aboriginal elaborated: “[Dr Fauci] lied to Congress and funded gain-of-function probe that killed millions of people. Not awesome IMO."
Dr Fauci was asked astir these attacks during an interrogation with CNN's Jim Acosta, successful which helium responded: "There's nary effect to that craziness, Jim. Prosecute maine for what? What are they talking about? I privation I could fig retired what the heck they're talking about. I deliberation they're conscionable going disconnected the heavy end."
Warning of the dangers of this benignant of misinformation, the aesculapian adept continued: "Every clip idiosyncratic gets up and spouts immoderate nonsense that's misinformation, disinformation, and outright lies, idiosyncratic determination decides they privation to bash harm to maine and oregon my family."
"That's the portion of it that is truly unfortunate. The remainder of it is conscionable insanity, the things they're saying. But it does person a antagonistic effect erstwhile radical instrumentality it earnestly and instrumentality it retired connected you and your family."
In May 2023, Musk besides tweeted a discredited nonfiction that stated “zero young steadfast individuals died of COVID-19".
Misleading gunman claims
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Getty Images)On May 6, 2023, 33-year-old Mauricio Martinez Garcia walked into the Texas buying centre, Allen Premium Outlets, and opened fire. He managed to fatally sprout 8 people, including three-year-old James Cho, earlier a bull who was already astatine the country gunned him down.
After his death, Garcia's utmost Right-wing views came to light, with the wide killer, who was inked with Nazi tattoos, having made his achromatic supremacist views connected societal media. Authorities and autarkic researchers besides confirmed Garcia's involvement successful far-right extremism and achromatic supremacism. The time helium carried retired his rampage, Garcia had been wearing a spot that work 'RWDS' - an acronym that stands for 'Right Wing Death Squad'.
Texas Department of Public Safety Regional Director Hank Sibley said: “We bash cognize helium had neo-Nazi ideation. He had patches. He had tattoos.” Garcia besides posted a immense worldly connected a Russian tract Odnoklassniki, arsenic reported astatine the clip by investigative outlet Bellingcat.
However, adjacent though Garcia's disturbing beliefs had been confirmed by authorities, Musk proceeded to suggest that revelations astir the gunman’s inheritance could beryllium a 'psyop' - a intelligence cognition whereby members of the nationalist are misled astir the existent details.
In a tweet that was viewed much than 3 cardinal times, Musk wrote: "This is either the weirdest communicative ever oregon a precise atrocious psyop!” Musk's posts successful effect to revelations astir Garcia's ideology besides suggested helium didn’t judge the authoritative account, describing the reports arsenic “very strange” and stating: “This gets weirder by the moment."
Detainment camp
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Getty Images)In August 2024, Musk shared a mendacious representation tweeted by Britain First enactment co-leader, Ashlea Simon, which puported to amusement an nonfiction published successful The Telegraph, astir 'detainment camps'. According to this fake article, which was thing much than a mock up, the UK was gathering camps connected the Falklands Islands wherever they would support rioters.
At the time, BBC News reported that Musk's station clocked up much than 1.7 cardinal times earlier it taken down with acknowledgment, with Simon's station concisely tagged with a connection which work "this communicative does not exist" earlier it was besides removed.
A Telegraph Media Group spokesperson stated: "This is simply a fabricated header for an nonfiction that does not exist. We notified applicable platforms and requested that the station beryllium taken down.”
Hurricane Helene untruths
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Getty Images)In September 2024, Musk was among those who made unfounded statements successful the aftermath of Hurricane Helene, a catastrophic tempest which claimed the lives of much than 200 radical crossed the Southeastern United States.
On societal media, Musk claimed that Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) “actively blocked” donations to victims, and that it had stopped flights from bringing assistance to the disaster-struck area.
Accusing FEMA of “belligerent authorities incompetence” of “seizing goods … and locking them distant to authorities they are their own”, helium besides alleged that North Carolina authorities had “taken power to halt radical helping” affected residents and wrongly claimed that sheriffs had threatened to apprehension FEMA unit “if they hinder rescue and assistance work.”
Taking the accidental to marque a excavation astatine the Democrats, Musk tweeted: “FEMA utilized up its fund ferrying illegals into the state alternatively of redeeming American lives. Treason."
Responding to Musk's baseless accusations astatine the time, proscription secretary, Pete Buttigieg, replied: “No 1 is shutting down the airspace and FAA doesn’t artifact morganatic rescue and betterment flights. If you’re encountering a occupation springiness maine a call.”
Politico reports that FEMA Administrator Deanne Criswell told reporters that the churn of conspiracy theories surrounding Helen was "absolutely the worst I person ever seen". She revealed: “I anticipated immoderate of this, but not to the grade that we’re seeing.
"It’s conscionable truly unfortunate that [people] proceed to effort to make this level of fearfulness successful these communities that is impeding our quality to bash our occupation astatine the level that we request to bash it, but we’re not going to fto it deter us. We are going to proceed to beryllium successful these communities and enactment them for immoderate they need.”
US Election claims
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AFP via Getty Images)Back successful October, Musk was busily showing enactment for his chum Trump, being 1 of his astir vocal supporters connected the run trail. This show of relationship besides included peddling debunked theories astir elector fraud during the 2020 statesmanlike election, which saw President Joe Biden elected into office.
Trump accused Dominion Voting Systems, a starring predetermination technology supplier, of rigging the predetermination successful Bidens's favour. The steadfast was aboriginal paid a $787 cardinal (£639 million) colony by Fox News pursuing a suit related to the Right-wing quality outlet's repeated broadcasting of these mendacious claims. However, determination are galore die-hard Trump supporters who stay adamant that elector fraud took place, contempt this having been disproved.
On January 6, 2021, 2 months aft Trump's defeat, seething MAGA fans stormed the Capitol gathering successful a convulsive effort to forestall Congress from formalising Biden's victory, resulting successful deaths and aggregate injuries.
On October 17, 2024, Musk fuelled these furious fires erstwhile much astatine a run municipality hallway successful Philidelphia, wherever helium told attendees: “When you person mail-in ballots and no, nary benignant of impervious of citizenship, it becomes astir intolerable to beryllium cheating, is the issue."
He continued: “There’s immoderate precise unusual things that hap that, that are statistically incredibly unlikely,” Musk continued. “So, there’s ever a question of, like, say, the Dominion voting machines. It is weird that, I think, they’re utilized successful Philadelphia and successful Maricopa County, but not a batch of different places. Doesn’t that look similar a heck of a coincidence?”
A Dominion spokesperson made the pursuing connection successful effect to Musk's claims: “Fact: Dominion does not service Philadelphia County. Fact: Dominion’s voting systems are already based connected voter-verified insubstantial ballots. Fact: Hand counts and audits of specified insubstantial ballots person repeatedly proven that Dominion machines nutrient close results. These are not matters of opinion. They are verifiable facts,
At the aforesaid event, Musk echoed Trump's oft-repeated falsehood astir the request to instrumentality to insubstantial ballots, urging: “We should lone bash insubstantial ballots, hand-counted. That’s it. I’m a technologist. I cognize a batch astir computers, and I’m like, the past happening I would bash is spot the machine program.”
This is contempt the information that, arsenic per CNN, much than 98 per cent of voters successful the US already unrecorded successful jurisdictions that person afloat auditable insubstantial trials successful place.
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