On Tuesday, billionaire Elon Musk told his 175 million followers on X that President Biden had committed "treason" by "secretly" flying "320,000 illegal immigrants" from Latin America to US airports.
As we have seen so many times in the current environment, the lie will travel around the world three times before truth leaves the starting gate. We shall see when Fox News picks up this story and the ginning up of the MAGA base begins. As as a side note, Trump's meeting with Musk today - seeking some financial help to "take care of a few things?"
yes. I guess they met today, and Elon is too cheap to want to invest in something that loses. Still, I wish we would revoke his citizenship under a new law that says immigrants who criticize the right to immigration have to go back where they came from. Also, I would love to see Twit-X shut down. I am not clear how so many Americans are rationalizing their addiction to it. I don't care what following they have amassed there, they need to leave it to the lunatic fringe like Musk!
Reports are that Musk says he "will not be giving money to either"candidate. Whether that means he actually will give to a superpac, or whether it means he will LOAN trump money, not give it--difficult to say.
The Right always say they have nothing against immigrants who enter the Country legally. This exposes the lie. They are anti immigrant and anti people of color. Period.
Remember: all hot button issues are lies. And the ones pushing those buttons are the rich. It's all about money! And for that, we have to sacrifice democracy itself. Republicans are highly skilled and organized fascists. And the workers who join them are fools.
Exactly. This is all about lying to the uneducated sadly and keeping their money. It’s always always been about the money. They are nothing without it. Elon was some thing at some point in time, but he is despicable now which cancels out anything that he’s achieved.
Thank you, Julie. To complete the analysis, we need to shine a light on where those riches come from. All wealth is accumulated untaxed profits, which are paid for by everyone who buys stuff. To say that the wealth of the rich is 'their' money isn't quite right. It's our money, too. I'm all for an economic system that gives value where value is due and provides wonderful things for the world, a system that cannot function without profits. Profits are also the source of tax revenue needed for the common good, which benefits every person, rich and poor. Hoarded wealth is dollar for dollar a tax (paid by all) that has not been levied or collected. I wonder, have you ever thought of 'their money' as 'our money'? I think that is the education the people need. And it explains the obsessive fear among the wealthy that we are coming for 'their' money, when in reality, it's OUR money. I think they know this. And their lies about 'socialism', which in their usage means communism, must be refuted. What we have now is socialism for the rich.
James Burnham, You may well consider that “ We” DO NOT “have to give up” (our rights to choosing)…. “democracy” to any one, at any time, for any reason! We must always fight harder than our adversaries or be the LOOSERS. TH EY HAVE DEMONSTRATED ALREADY THAT THEY ARE LOOSERS WITH THEIR LIES. L I E S, WITH absolutely nothing; NO CREATABLE PROOF to back up their false, deceitful stories and claims. Be extra careful that you are not deceived and continue the false lies, you see or hear or YOU may be labeled as JUST ANOTHER LOOSER that later learned just too late of your fate.
This one individual owns the majority of our satellites and is a dangerous security risk. I can’t believe he was able to tweet that vicious lie and there is no pushback for it, let alone a visit from the NSA or Secret Service. He is the traitor here
The “Intelligence Community” is “alarmed”—truly intelligent people should have been alarmed when the RNC was co-opted by Libertarians starting in the 70’s . . .or when Reagan was clearly in the throes of Alzheimer’s in the 80’s . . . Or when the RNC stole elections for Bush W. And Trump. Well, now we have fascist billionaires intent on overthrowing democracy who serve up tRump as a candidate for President.
Thank you Judd and Tesnim for jumping on the slanderous reports from more billionaires promoting their wealth and whiteness. I responded to the first of these tweets when reading what Elon had to say on his X with Collin Rugg as his news source last evening. What a relief to see that Popular Information has come through with detailed facts and full clarification!
Will our DOJ bring a suit against Musk and Rugg for serious slander and defamation? Elon should pay for his abuse of his financial power...when it harms our govrnment and our election.
Those are my questions: are there grounds to sue? Can the U.S. government revoke Elon’s citizenship?
Plutocrats and kleptocrats are ruining our country. I’m sick of being outraged. I want action that prevents this unmitigated crap from continuing to poison the minds of voters. It is toxic, how polarized we’ve become. “Free speech absolutist” means free to speak lies? absolutely!
I stopped using X — did people “add context” to correct all the lies that Elon & Colin told?
I'm not a lawyer, but that tweet from Musk checks the boxes for defamation:
"An online post, tweet (or retweet), video, or comment is online defamation only if it is a (1) false statement about a specific person; (2) posted or communicated to another person (or to the internet generally); and (3) damages a person’s reputation."
Thanks.. I looked up the definition of "actual malice," and I think a case could be made there, too. Specifically, I think a lawyer could successfully argue that Musk had a reckless disregard as to the statement's falsity.
---
In an “actual malice” case, a plaintiff must prove even more: that the defendant either knew that the statement was false at the time, or else demonstrated “reckless disregard” as to its falsity. To help demonstrate reckless disregard, plaintiffs can show that defendants were aware of facts that make clear they simply did not care about the truth of the statement in question. That includes evidence that defendants relied on sources they knew to be unreliable or had an ulterior motive for publishing the statement.
I've given up on Elon Musk being a good faith actor a long time ago. The cited article putting "asylum seekers" in quotes so as to cast aspersions on the legitimacy of the very concept is propagandist in its own right, though. It's a human right to seek asylum...or at least it *should* be.
Border complaints have no validity as border bill was torpedoed. Do we think Trump gets money from Musk for ‘campaign’ or for fines and penalties or both? Is Musk a ‘cut-out’ for the Saudis? After all, didn’t Saudis help Musk by Twitter? Interesting.
Because I have no time for X, I don't pay attention to this little man with far too much money. IF there was ever a problem boy it is Elon. The worst thing that happened to Elon is his money.
Judd: I appreciate your effort to disseminate true information. But here lies the problem: Multiple times, every single day, MAGA says something that is either an outright lie, or is out of context or contains one truth among what is said. These are pushed to RW social media sites, reported on talk radio, distributed by bots, both foreign and domestic, repeated on cable news. Millions get this faulty information nearly immediately, every single day. The truth may be reported by a few columnists and perhaps an article in a newspaper. But there is no web to disseminate the truth. No set of radio programs, no newspapers, no social network that comes close to matching the MAGA chain.
Maybe the people who believe this would vote for someone like Trump or his ilk anyway. But it has an effect on the country as a whole . And the more it is repeated, the more the lie seems real. And it’s destroying this country.
Yes, yes and yes. "No social network that comes close to matching the MAGA chain."
And to top it off, it's ALL a grift. They (those who use these means to keep the maggats permanently riled up & get paid) would detroy everything long-term for us all in order to satisfy their own, personal, short term interests. The screw you Jack, I got mine attitude on steroids.
Musk is collecting a significant amount of our taxpayer dollars. That needs to stop and the sooner the better. Biden needs to go Teddy Roosevelt on this guy.
What did T Roosevelt do? I know Franklin went after his opponents when they threatened to leave the US because of Roosevelt’s New Deal, and he proclaimed, We will miss you very much.
I know Teddy was a tough cowboy type but not familiar with what he did regarding opponents.
As a bombastic, petulant and arrogantly rich turd, musk also controls Starlink - the satellite network that provides much of our internet service. Chilling to think our military forces rely on a system owned by this emotionally volatile jerk.
Thanks, Judd. Last week, Musk did something that might be valuable in his suit against Open AI for abandoning its mission of being non-profit and benefiting humanity, and now today goes wildly in the opposite direction of supporting unfounded racist conspiracy theories. This is someone who appears to lack any sort of critical self-awareness.
"“OpenAI fired back at a lawsuit filed against it by Elon Musk in a blog post Tuesday, using the billionaire’s own emails to show he backed the company’s plans to become a for-profit business and that he insisted it raise “billions” of dollars to be relevant compared with Google."
As we have seen so many times in the current environment, the lie will travel around the world three times before truth leaves the starting gate. We shall see when Fox News picks up this story and the ginning up of the MAGA base begins. As as a side note, Trump's meeting with Musk today - seeking some financial help to "take care of a few things?"
Thanks for the info on Trump's plan to ask Musk for money.
yes. I guess they met today, and Elon is too cheap to want to invest in something that loses. Still, I wish we would revoke his citizenship under a new law that says immigrants who criticize the right to immigration have to go back where they came from. Also, I would love to see Twit-X shut down. I am not clear how so many Americans are rationalizing their addiction to it. I don't care what following they have amassed there, they need to leave it to the lunatic fringe like Musk!
Agreed. That doesn't seem to have been reported very widely.
On a positive note, Guardian gave the story prominent coverage.
Thanks, I subscribe to the wonderful Guardian, but simply can't read everything, or even as much of everything as I'd like.
I've been meaning to subscribe, thanks for the reminder. But not unlike Valerie, with all of my subscriptions, I just don't get to it all.
Reports are that Musk says he "will not be giving money to either"candidate. Whether that means he actually will give to a superpac, or whether it means he will LOAN trump money, not give it--difficult to say.
I don't trust a word out of Musk's mouth. Not one word.
I fully expect Musk to funnel money to support Trump, whether thru his company, loans or outright donations that he lies about.
Elon Musk deserves much more public retribution than he is currently receiving. As always, thank you for exposing the rot.
The Right always say they have nothing against immigrants who enter the Country legally. This exposes the lie. They are anti immigrant and anti people of color. Period.
Remember: all hot button issues are lies. And the ones pushing those buttons are the rich. It's all about money! And for that, we have to sacrifice democracy itself. Republicans are highly skilled and organized fascists. And the workers who join them are fools.
Exactly. This is all about lying to the uneducated sadly and keeping their money. It’s always always been about the money. They are nothing without it. Elon was some thing at some point in time, but he is despicable now which cancels out anything that he’s achieved.
Thank you, Julie. To complete the analysis, we need to shine a light on where those riches come from. All wealth is accumulated untaxed profits, which are paid for by everyone who buys stuff. To say that the wealth of the rich is 'their' money isn't quite right. It's our money, too. I'm all for an economic system that gives value where value is due and provides wonderful things for the world, a system that cannot function without profits. Profits are also the source of tax revenue needed for the common good, which benefits every person, rich and poor. Hoarded wealth is dollar for dollar a tax (paid by all) that has not been levied or collected. I wonder, have you ever thought of 'their money' as 'our money'? I think that is the education the people need. And it explains the obsessive fear among the wealthy that we are coming for 'their' money, when in reality, it's OUR money. I think they know this. And their lies about 'socialism', which in their usage means communism, must be refuted. What we have now is socialism for the rich.
I wish I had more of our money then. However, I wish the people who are really suffering had a lot more of “our” money.
My point exactly!
James Burnham, You may well consider that “ We” DO NOT “have to give up” (our rights to choosing)…. “democracy” to any one, at any time, for any reason! We must always fight harder than our adversaries or be the LOOSERS. TH EY HAVE DEMONSTRATED ALREADY THAT THEY ARE LOOSERS WITH THEIR LIES. L I E S, WITH absolutely nothing; NO CREATABLE PROOF to back up their false, deceitful stories and claims. Be extra careful that you are not deceived and continue the false lies, you see or hear or YOU may be labeled as JUST ANOTHER LOOSER that later learned just too late of your fate.
I don't think that you comprehended my comment.
I'm seriously concerned about the mental state of Elon Musk lately. The guy doesn't seem to have all his nuts and bolts screwed down properly.
He may be taking too much ketamine (and who knows what else!)
This one individual owns the majority of our satellites and is a dangerous security risk. I can’t believe he was able to tweet that vicious lie and there is no pushback for it, let alone a visit from the NSA or Secret Service. He is the traitor here
The “Intelligence Community” is “alarmed”—truly intelligent people should have been alarmed when the RNC was co-opted by Libertarians starting in the 70’s . . .or when Reagan was clearly in the throes of Alzheimer’s in the 80’s . . . Or when the RNC stole elections for Bush W. And Trump. Well, now we have fascist billionaires intent on overthrowing democracy who serve up tRump as a candidate for President.
We should have been paying attention, indeed.
Thank you Judd and Tesnim for jumping on the slanderous reports from more billionaires promoting their wealth and whiteness. I responded to the first of these tweets when reading what Elon had to say on his X with Collin Rugg as his news source last evening. What a relief to see that Popular Information has come through with detailed facts and full clarification!
Will our DOJ bring a suit against Musk and Rugg for serious slander and defamation? Elon should pay for his abuse of his financial power...when it harms our govrnment and our election.
Those are my questions: are there grounds to sue? Can the U.S. government revoke Elon’s citizenship?
Plutocrats and kleptocrats are ruining our country. I’m sick of being outraged. I want action that prevents this unmitigated crap from continuing to poison the minds of voters. It is toxic, how polarized we’ve become. “Free speech absolutist” means free to speak lies? absolutely!
I stopped using X — did people “add context” to correct all the lies that Elon & Colin told?
I'm not a lawyer, but that tweet from Musk checks the boxes for defamation:
"An online post, tweet (or retweet), video, or comment is online defamation only if it is a (1) false statement about a specific person; (2) posted or communicated to another person (or to the internet generally); and (3) damages a person’s reputation."
https://www.amundsendavislaw.com/alert-what-to-do-if-you-are-defamed-on-social-media
in the case of a public figure, it has to be made with actual malice, too.
Thanks.. I looked up the definition of "actual malice," and I think a case could be made there, too. Specifically, I think a lawyer could successfully argue that Musk had a reckless disregard as to the statement's falsity.
---
In an “actual malice” case, a plaintiff must prove even more: that the defendant either knew that the statement was false at the time, or else demonstrated “reckless disregard” as to its falsity. To help demonstrate reckless disregard, plaintiffs can show that defendants were aware of facts that make clear they simply did not care about the truth of the statement in question. That includes evidence that defendants relied on sources they knew to be unreliable or had an ulterior motive for publishing the statement.
---
https://protectdemocracy.org/work/the-actual-malice-standard-explained/
We really need attention on these provable lies!
I've given up on Elon Musk being a good faith actor a long time ago. The cited article putting "asylum seekers" in quotes so as to cast aspersions on the legitimacy of the very concept is propagandist in its own right, though. It's a human right to seek asylum...or at least it *should* be.
Border complaints have no validity as border bill was torpedoed. Do we think Trump gets money from Musk for ‘campaign’ or for fines and penalties or both? Is Musk a ‘cut-out’ for the Saudis? After all, didn’t Saudis help Musk by Twitter? Interesting.
The hypocrisy is astounding!!!
we have to stop calling it "fines." It is JUDGEMENTS.
Because I have no time for X, I don't pay attention to this little man with far too much money. IF there was ever a problem boy it is Elon. The worst thing that happened to Elon is his money.
Or maybe being raised by his dad PLUS the money.
Plus being raised in apartheid South Africa.
Precisely. This land was given to us, they said.
And getting his money from his father’s emerald mine! Yes mining during the apartheid era is admirable! 🙄
You know what time it is. Another deplorable The Musk is.
Judd: I appreciate your effort to disseminate true information. But here lies the problem: Multiple times, every single day, MAGA says something that is either an outright lie, or is out of context or contains one truth among what is said. These are pushed to RW social media sites, reported on talk radio, distributed by bots, both foreign and domestic, repeated on cable news. Millions get this faulty information nearly immediately, every single day. The truth may be reported by a few columnists and perhaps an article in a newspaper. But there is no web to disseminate the truth. No set of radio programs, no newspapers, no social network that comes close to matching the MAGA chain.
Maybe the people who believe this would vote for someone like Trump or his ilk anyway. But it has an effect on the country as a whole . And the more it is repeated, the more the lie seems real. And it’s destroying this country.
Yes, yes and yes. "No social network that comes close to matching the MAGA chain."
And to top it off, it's ALL a grift. They (those who use these means to keep the maggats permanently riled up & get paid) would detroy everything long-term for us all in order to satisfy their own, personal, short term interests. The screw you Jack, I got mine attitude on steroids.
Musk is collecting a significant amount of our taxpayer dollars. That needs to stop and the sooner the better. Biden needs to go Teddy Roosevelt on this guy.
What did T Roosevelt do? I know Franklin went after his opponents when they threatened to leave the US because of Roosevelt’s New Deal, and he proclaimed, We will miss you very much.
I know Teddy was a tough cowboy type but not familiar with what he did regarding opponents.
Teddy Roosevelt was a trust-buster and no friend at all of the ultra rich. https://www.ushistory.org/us/43b.asp
As a bombastic, petulant and arrogantly rich turd, musk also controls Starlink - the satellite network that provides much of our internet service. Chilling to think our military forces rely on a system owned by this emotionally volatile jerk.
Thanks, Judd. Last week, Musk did something that might be valuable in his suit against Open AI for abandoning its mission of being non-profit and benefiting humanity, and now today goes wildly in the opposite direction of supporting unfounded racist conspiracy theories. This is someone who appears to lack any sort of critical self-awareness.
The OpenAI 'lawsuit' is already falling apart!
"“OpenAI fired back at a lawsuit filed against it by Elon Musk in a blog post Tuesday, using the billionaire’s own emails to show he backed the company’s plans to become a for-profit business and that he insisted it raise “billions” of dollars to be relevant compared with Google."
https://vmst.io/@drrjv/112048864515886051
He seems to be backing both sides of this issue, and therefore sues himself. Definitely, we need a lot more popcorn to watch this show.
There is a joke in there!
He says he's on the autism spectrum.
He may well be, I am not in a position to diagnose him. Unlike many who are more unidimensional, Musk presents as more what I would call a conundrum.
https://www.axios.com/2022/04/15/elon-musk-aspergers-syndrome
Everyone and anyone that's still on Xitter should share this story there, and everywhere. There needs to be a MASSIVE effort, now.
Thank you for facts.
And Musk is a trusted contractor? Wondered where the Orange Pustule got his latest conspiracy from. The Xitter.