After being besieged by negative articles by legacy media, Elon Musk fired back by posting a meme that slammed the press for “publishing articles that are inaccurate.”
On May 5, the New York Times published an article titled: “Elon Musk Left a South Africa That Was Rife With Misinformation and White Privilege.”
The New York Times promoted the article on its official Twitter account with nearly 53 million followers, writing, “Elon Musk grew up in elite white communities in South Africa, detached from apartheid’s atrocities and surrounded by anti-Black propaganda. He sees his takeover of Twitter as a free speech win but in his youth did not suffer the effects of misinformation.”
The New York Times accused Musk of the crime of living during “the apartheid era” that “created all-white enclaves littered with anti-black government propaganda and sheltered from the atrocities of apartheid.”
The Times interviewed high school classmates of the 50-year-old Tesla CEO to “reveal an upbringing in elite, segregated white communities that were littered with anti-black government propaganda, and detached from the atrocities that white political leaders inflicted on the black majority.”
The Times wrote, “Classmates at two high schools he attended described him as a loner with no close friends.” The Gray Lady claimed that Musk had been “insulated from the harsh reality” of the system of apartheid. Regarding Musk’s acquisition of Twitter, the NYT wondered “how growing up as a white person under the racist apartheid system in South Africa may have shaped him.”
However, “Breaking Points” host Saagar Enjeti pointed out on Twitter: “In this article NYT itself reports @elonmusk: 1. Had non-white friends growing up in apartheid SA 2. His own father was an ANTI-APARTHEID politician 3. He literally left so he didn’t have to serve in apartheid military. They still insinuate he is a racist.”
On Wednesday, Musk slammed the corporate press with a meme accusing the corporate press of publishing “slanderous” articles.
Musk utilized the popular “Galaxy Brain” meme format – which is described by the Know Your Meme website: “Though the expanding brain is usually implied to showcase intellectual superiority over various objects, it is more often used in an ironic sense to imply the opposite, where objects of derision are implied to be of higher standard than objects that are usually highly regarded.”
The meme that Musk posted to Twitter features three images of a human brain.
The first image has the caption: “Publishing factual, accurate news.” The second brain is brighter and larger with the caption: “Publishing articles that use clickbait and out-of-context quotes.” The third and final frame mocks legacy media outlets and reads, “Publishing articles that are inaccurate, slanderous, and include at least one accusation of being a nazi.”
On May 2, Musk accused MSNBC host Mehdi Hasan of labeling Republicans as “Nazis.”
Speaking about the GOP potentially making gains in the 2022 midterm elections, Hasan said, “We’re living through an unspeakably dangerous moment, the pro-QAnon, pro-neo-Nazi faction of the Republican party is poised to expand dramatically, come the midterms.”
Hasan also slammed Musk as a “petulant and not-so-bright billionaire” who “casually bought one of the world’s most influential messaging machines and just handed it to the far right.”
Musk replied to a video clip by writing, “NBC basically saying Republicans are Nazis.”
Last month, the Washington Post published an article claiming that Musk has the “power to unleash mobs against people” and his “supporters have weaponized Twitter.” Musk responded to that article by sharing a meme asserting that Twitter has a left-wing bias based on a “Joe Rogan Experience” interview with Twitter founder Jack Dorsey from March 2019.