Elon Musk Did Not Buy CNN
The Claim
Elon Musk bought CNN.
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Emerging story
Recently, a claim went viral on social media platforms that the tech billionaire Elon Musk bought CNN.
The claim was shared by Argentina’s president Javier Milei. While speaking in front of the Argentine Chamber of Commerce on Nov. 7, he said that Elon Musk bought that “filthy woke bastion that was CNN.”
Several social media users shared the claim too.
Misbar’s Analysis
Misbar investigated the viral claim and found it to be satirical.
Satirical Claims of Musk Buying CNN
The claim originated from a satirical article published on a fake news website called SpaceXMania last October under the title, “Elon Musk Reportedly Eyeing CNN Acquisition: “I’ll Fix the Media, One Network at a Time.”
The article was categorized as satirical by the authors.
SpaceXMania team identifies their mission as to bring the “freshest fake news.” The site’s articles are of a satirical nature that orbits around Elon Musk as the claim in question.
The site further disclaims its responsibility for any sharing of the information found on the site, as it clearly clarifies on its disclaimer page that the site does not make any warranties about the completeness and accuracy of the information on the site.
Finally, CNN did not announce that it was bought by Elon Musk, and no credible source has reported this.
Elon Musk Deepens His Influence on Trump
Canadian businessman Elon Musk has been frequently visiting Donald Trump’s Mar-a-Lago club. Musk has been seen at the resort in Palm Beach, Florida, almost every day since Trump won the election last week.
Sources who reported this have described Trump as enamored with Musk, according to CNN.
Several incidents led sources to report that. One incident occurred on Friday when Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy called Donald Trump to congratulate him on his presidential election victory. Musk was present and joined the call as Trump put it on speaker.
Musk is not expected to take a position in Trump’s administration; however, he is having just as much influence from the outside.
According to Federal Election Commission filings, Musk donated nearly $119 million to a political action committee he set up to support Trump in October. He also appeared with Trump at rallies and hosted a friendly interview with him on X, his social media platform.
The investments paid near-immediate returns, and Tesla shares went up nearly 15% the day after the election. This surge increased the value of the 411 million shares that Musk owns outright by more than $15 billion, reaching a two-year high for Tesla shares.
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