Elon Musk post about X users calling Trump supporters 'weird' is fabricated | Fact check
The claim: Image shows Elon Musk post threatening punishment for users calling Trump supporters ‘weird’
A July 30 Instagram post (direct link, archive link) shows what appears to be an Elon Musk post on X, formerly Twitter.
“‘Weird’ is being used as a slur against Trump supporters, and it will not be tolerated on this platform,” reads the start of Musk’s supposed X post. “Trump supporters should not have to face ridicule for their beliefs. Any harassment of Trump supporters using the term ‘Weird’ will be punished.”
The Instagram post was liked more than 3,000 times in three days. Another version of the claim spread widely on X.
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The image is fabricated. No such post appears on Musk’s X account.
Supposed Musk post doesn't appear on his X account
Since Vice President Kamala Harris emerged as the Democratic Party’s presumptive nominee, she and other Democrats have repeatedly described former President Donald Trump and his running mate, Ohio Sen. JD Vance, as “weird.” A political expert told USA TODAY the strategy could be effective for its simplicity and resonance with everyday Americans, though it could also come across as “petty and unsophisticated.”
But while Musk endorsed Trump in July and has made an array of posts in support of the former president, his purported statement about punishing X users who call Trump supporters weird is fabricated.
No such post appears on live or archived versions of Musk’s X account. There are likewise no credible news reports about Musk making such a statement.
Fact check: Fabricated tweet from Elon Musk circulates online after news of Twitter acquisition
Musk has touted his social media platform as a free speech forum. He reinstated accounts banned under the platform’s previous ownership, including Trump and Infowars host Alex Jones, but also suspended multiple journalists he accused of “doxxing” him in 2022.
USA TODAY has debunked an array of claims about Musk, including false assertions that he deleted a former White House photographer’s X account, that an image authentically shows him wearing a “Make apartheid great again” hat and that a video shows him promising to give away 10,000 silver bars.
USA TODAY reached out to the user who shared the post for comment but did not immediately receive a response.
Snopes also debunked the claim.
Our fact-check sources:
Elon Musk, accessed July 31, X account
Elon Musk, accessed July 31, X account keyword search
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This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Fabricated Elon Musk post condemns Trump harassment | Fact check