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In his signature manner, Elon Musk posted a tweet in jest and landed himself in trouble. The billionaire recently took to Twitter to share an unsubstantiated conspiracy theory about the attack on Nancy Pelosi’s husband, Paul. This left netizens enraged.
On Sunday, the Tesla CEO shared a link to an article that included baseless claims about Paul Pelosi’s personal life and the role it might have played in the attack on him last week at his San Francisco residence.
Hillary Clinton initially shared a tweet slamming hateful right-wing rhetoric. Responding to the same, Musk said in a now-deleted tweet:
“There is a tiny possibility there might be more to this story than meets the eye.”
He went on to link an article published in the Santa Monica Observer. The written piece included a theory that claimed that Paul Pelosi met his attacker at a gay bar on the night of the attack.
After deleting the tweet on Sunday night, he posted a screenshot of a New York Times article where the headline read- Elon Musk, in a Tweet, Shares Link From Site Known to Publish False News.
In his tweet, he wrote:
“This is fake- I did *not* tweet out a link to The New York Times!”
Elon Musk did not give any reason for deleting his tweet about Paul Pelosi.
Netizens react to Elon Musk spreading a conspiracy theory on Twitter
Internet users were unimpressed to see Musk post unconfirmed articles on his Twitter account, where he holds 112.4 million followers. The Santa Monica Observer has gained a reputation for being a “questionable source” according to fact-checking website Media Bias. They also claim that The Santa Monica Observer routinely published “false and misleading information” and often uses “poor sources.”
Based on this, Twitterverse was exasperated to see Elon Musk, who calls himself “Chief Twit,” upload uncredible information.
Internet users demanded that Elon Musk apologize for his tweet. Others expressed concern over the social media platform’s future, and it being potentially used to spread misinformation, in light of Elon Musk’s Twitter acquisition.
Netizens were not the only ones to slam Musk as late-night show host Jimmy Kimmel also slammed the 51-year-old. He said in a tweet:
“It has been interesting, over the years, to watch you blossom from the electric car guy into a fully-formed piece of sh*t @elonmusk.”
Paul Pelosi was attacked by a stranger looking for Nancy Pelosi
San Franciso law enforcement announced that Paul Pelosi was attacked by a stranger who has since been identified as 42-year-old David DePape. The latter broke into the Pelosi residence around 2 am on Friday, as he searched for Nancy Pelosi.
Police claimed that they found DePapes “violently” assaulting 82 year old Paul Pelosi with a hammer. It was also revealed that DePape was carrying zip ties and duct tape during the attack.
To further confirm that The Santa Monica Observer routinely provides false information, police officials shared information that contradicted the publication. Law enforcement shared that only two people were present at the residence during the attack. The publication reported that a third person was also present at the home.
