SpaceX, Tesla and Twitter owner Elon Musk faced criticism on Sunday after he posted a conspiracy theory about the attack on US House Speaker Nancy Pelosi’s husband Paul Pelosi on Twitter. He posted a dubious news report which claimed that the attacker David DePape met Paul Pelosi at a gay bar and a fight ensued between the two over some altercation. Musk later deleted the tweet.
The news report was published by Santa Monica Observer which claimed earlier that Hillary Clinton died on September 11 and a body double has replaced her.
The attacker hurt Paul Pelosi with a hammer, hitting his head and arms, due to which he underwent a surgery and is currently recovering. The news report by Santa Monica Observer also questioned why he did not have tight security without taking into account that the spouses of members of the Senate and the House are not granted a security detail since they are not US Capitol Police protectees.
Musk tweeted the news article in response to a tweet by former US secretary of state Hillary Clinton who said that conspiracy theories and fake news have led to this.
“The Republican Party and its mouthpieces now regularly spread hate and deranged conspiracy theories. It is shocking, but not surprising, that violence is the result. As citizens, we must hold them accountable for their words and the actions that follow,” Hillary tweeted.
Musk responded by saying: “There is a tiny possibility there might be more to this story than meets the eye.” The tweet is now deleted.
Musk’s tweet gained 24,000 retweets and 86,000 likes before its deletion. He also appeared to be laughing away the criticism directed at him by sharing the New York Times story’s screenshot about the criticism he is facing for the deleted tweet by saying: “This is fake – I did not tweet out a link to The New York Times!”
The Santa Monica Observer earlier made false claims about Covid-19, saying sunlight cures the disease and Kanye West was appointed to a government position by Donald Trump.
Elon’s detractors were concerned that the billionaire’s conversations on Twitter amid midterm elections could contribute to the polarisation that the US is experiencing.
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