Elon Musk, new owner of Twitter, tweets baseless conspiracy theory about Paul Pelosi attack
SpaceX Chief Engineer Elon Musk gestures during a joint press conference with T-Mobile CEO Mike Sievert (not pictured) at SpaceX Starbase, in Brownsville, Texas, August 25, 2022.
Andrew Latif | Reuters
Elon MuskTwitter’s new owner tweeted a baseless conspiracy theory Sunday morning about the assault on the husband of House Speaker Nancy Pelosi from a website with a history of posting misinformation.
Musk responds to the former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton when she tweeted out a LA Times story about how the suspect in attack Paul PelosiDavid DePape, spreading far-right conspiracy theories.
“There’s a very small chance in this story that there could be more to it than eye sight,” Musk wrote to Clinton, linking to a story posted on a right-wing website called the Santa Monica Observer, questioning asked about the circumstances of the Pelosi attack, according to an archived version of the story. (The site was inaccessible late on Sunday morning.)
As of late Sunday morning, Musk’s tweet had more than 24,000 retweets and more than 86,000 likes, and quickly gained more attention.
Media Bias Fact Check Site / Fact Check price Santa Monica Observer as a “questionable source” based on “the frequent publication of false and misleading information and the poor use of sources.”
Media Bias/Fact Check said the website’s article about the Pelosi attack “appears to be fake and defamatory.”
Musk did not immediately respond to a request for comment from NBC News.
The Santa Monica Observer also ran other fake stories that falsely reported that former Secretary of State Clinton had died in the September 11, 2001 attacks and had used a dual body since, and that Ye , rapper formerly known as Kanye West, has been assigned a non-existent position in the Department of the Interior under the former President Donald Trump.
The publisher of the site, David Ganezer, run failed for the Santa Monica City Council in 2010 and 1988, according to the Santa Monica Daily Press. He is currently a registered Republican, voting records show.
Musk’s tweet appeared just days after $44 billion acquisition of Twitter has been completed. Musk has said that he will loosen the rules about what kind of speech is allowed on the platform. That oath has raised concerns that the changes could expose users and advertisers from the site.
DePape attacked Pelosi, 82, with a hammer after breaking into their home in California early Friday. Two sources told NBC News the suspect was looking for the speaker of the House of Representatives, who was in Washington, DC at the time.
Police arrived after Pelosi called 911 when the suspect was not searching.
Speaker spokesman Drew Hammill said Pelosi suffered a fractured skull and serious injuries to her right arm and hand. Nancy Pelosi. He underwent successful surgery and is expected to make a full recovery, Hammill added on Friday.
Police said DePape will be charged with attempted murder, among other charges. Officials say they are still working to determine a motive in the attack
