How Dangerous Is Elon Musk?

By David Corn  June 17, 2023

Elon Musk departs the federal courthouse in San Francisco on January 24, 2023. Benjamin Fanjoy/AP

Before he was booted from Fox, on a good night, Tucker Carlson drew 3 million viewers to his rant-a-thon. And he was deemed one of the most influential purveyors of disinformation and bigotry on the right.

Elon Musk has 143.7 million followers on Twitter, which he owns, and his tweets, boosted by the site’s algorithm, individually rack up millions—often tens of millions—of impressions. With his amplification of assorted conspiracy theories, his echoing of alt-right talking points, his simplistic attacks on wokeness, and his out-in-the-open stanning for MAGA Republicans, he spreads conservative propaganda a greater distance than Carlson did on Fox.

And Musk is more dangerous than Carlson. Or any other right-wing shouting-head. Yet his mega-wealth and success as a carmaker and rocket builder might distract from the threat he poses. After all, he’s a jet-setting tech celebrity whose excessive tweeting can be dismissed as an eccentricity. But his constant insertion of poison into the national discourse—at super-scale—should not be overlooked. In fact, it now defines Musk. It is a feature, not a bug.

The Forward tried to make this point recently, posting an article headlined “Elon Musk is the most dangerous antisemite in America.” That’s quite a charge, and the author of the piece, Elad Nehorai, approached this subject carefully. As Exhibit No. 1, he cited a recent Musk tweet in which Musk promoted a tweet that celebrated actor Mel Gibson for hating Jews and suggested President Joe Biden drinks the blood of children.

Nehorai wrote:

Musk frequently cloaks his antisemitic rhetoric in the language of conspiracy theories. Whether he’s claiming it is “accurate” that George Soros is a “Lizard God-King of the world” who controls the fate of each business on earth, or linking Soros with the Rothschilds (one of the most overt and well-known antisemitic conspiracy theories in recent history), or engaging in the New World Order conspiracy theory that claims a small elite (Jews) are on the verge of turning the world into a single government, or interacting with those who spread the “great replacement” conspiracy theory, Musk is regularly spreading the kind of coded messaging that leads to the spread of antisemitism. 

Nehorai also accurately noted that Musk has decimated content moderation at Twitter and reinstated some of its most notorious antisemites. Not surprisingly, antisemitic messaging has doubled since Musk took the reins at Twitter.

Musk reminds me a bit of Henry Ford, another automobile pioneer. He was so devoted to antisemitism that for years he published a newspaper that regularly ran explicit antisemitic articles that decried a supposed international conspiracy of bankers, Bolsheviks, and Jews. It even reprinted portions of The Protocols of the Elders of Zion, one of the most notorious antisemitic hoaxes, and often rhapsodized about its themes. But Musk’s influence is more wide-ranging than the man who gave us the Model T. Nehorai calls him “possibly the most dangerous antisemite in American history,” adding, “no other person has ever had this much power over media and to spread a message.”

That’s a strong indictment, one that ought to be seriously considered.

Meanwhile, Musk’s standing as a leading disinformationalist was recently confirmed by…his own lawyers.

One of Musk’s most valuable gifts to the right has been his championing of the narrative that Big Tech, libs, and the government (the Deep State!) conspire to shut up conservatives. That was the overarching motif of the Twitter Files, a series of reports from writers who were given access by Musk to pre-Musk Twitter files. They cherry-picked material to feed this paranoid perspective. Their and Musk’s conspiracy-mongering about tech and evil government forces is especially perilous because it bolsters Trump’s mega-claim that he is the victim of a similar cabal, which, he fumes, concocted the Russia scandal and the Ukraine scandal, stole the election from him, and orchestrated phony indictments against him. With his promotion of the supposed Twitter plot, Musk buttresses Trump’s Manichean view and his divisive politics of fear and loathing. He confirms the distorted reality of the angry alt-right.

But as Mike Masnick, who writes the Techdirt blog, recently explained, “To date, not a single document revealed has shown what people now falsely believe: that the US government and Twitter were working together to ‘censor’ people based on their political viewpoints. Literally none of that has been shown at all. Instead, what’s been shown is that Twitter had a competent trust & safety team that debated tough questions around how to apply policies for users on their platform and did not seem at all politically motivated in their decisions.” And who says so? Musk’s lawyers.

Masnick highlighted a filing last month in the case that Trump brought against Twitter after he was banned from the site following his incitement of the January 6 riot. Trump claimed the ban violated the First Amendment. But since Twitter is a company, not a government entity, his case had no foundation and, predictably, was dismissed. But Trump appealed and insisted that the Twitter Files proved his allegation that “Twitter engaged in a widespread censorship campaign…[that] was the result of unlawful government influence, [and thus] violated the First Amendment.”

Trump was aping what Musk had said about the Twitter Files. But in response, Twitter’s lawyers—attorneys who work for Musk!—replied that this was all bunk. They stated that “the new materials”—that is, the Twitter Files—“do not plausibly suggest that Twitter suspended any of [Trump’s] accounts pursuant to any” government action. The attorneys added, “The new materials show that Twitter takes content-moderation actions pursuant to its own rules and policies.” Plus: “These materials regarding Twitter’s internal deliberations and disagreements show no governmental participation with respect to [Trump’s] accounts.” As Masnick put it, “Twitter’s filing is like a beat-by-beat debunking of the conspiracy theories pushed by the dude who owns Twitter. It’s really quite incredible…Basically, Twitter’s own lawyers are admitting in a court filing that the guy who owns their company is spewing utter nonsense about what the Twitter Files revealed.”

There is something a bit comical and delicious about Musk being undermined by his own legal team. But this episode is disturbing and consequential. Musk can shape public understanding and sentiment. In this instance, he affirmed the false storyline peddled by Trump and the alt-right. And now it’s an article of faith on the right that tech firms nefariously plotted with government agents to subvert American democracy and aid the left. Crazy, yes. But deeply and fervently believed.

This fuels the nonsense you see on Fox and in the Republican House these days about the “weaponization of government” and about the recent felony indictment of Trump for retaining classified material, obstructing justice, and lying to government investigators. (Rep. Jim Jordan held a hearing on Twitter. It was a dud, showing no untoward or censorious collusion between the firm and the Deep State.) Yet Musk, by showcasing this claptrap, further perverts American politics.

A few days ago, he popped off a tweet that raises questions about his devotion to democracy. Replying to tweets about the right’s latest Biden conspiracy theory—that there are audio recordings showing that Hunter and Joe Biden pocketed $10 million in bribes from a Ukraine energy company (spoiler: there’s no evidence they exist)—Musk tweeted, “Perhaps we just need a modern day Sulla.”

Sulla was a Roman general who engaged in two civil wars in the first century BC. After he triumphed in the second, his troops butchered thousands of prisoners, and he was proclaimed dictator for life. His reign, according to the Warfare History Network, “was purely reactionary: it was done to restore the Senate to its ancient authority by suppressing all possible dissent.”

Haha—isn’t it funny that Musk is joking that America needs a bloody tyrant to deal with supposed corruption. And, by the way, this isn’t the first time Musk has tweeted about Sulla. In 2021, he compared him to Santa Claus.

Yes, more joshing. But why is this guy on Musk’s list of favorite ancient generals?

One could write a book on all of Musk’s troubling tweets. (Hmmm, I wonder what sort of advance a publisher would pay for that.) And it is easy to be dismissive of the chief Twit—a boy genius who often displays the maturity of a 14-year-old who desperately wants to be regarded as subversively funny and cool. Yet this titan of tech controls a vital channel of discussion—a national (and global!) town square—and has an audience that transcends that of all the network news anchors combined. His normalization of antisemitism, his platforming of right-wing disinformation and propaganda, his affirmation of hate speech, his dissemination of conspiracism—it’s a problem. His rocket ships sometimes explode and disperse particulate matter that might harm humans and animals. His self-driving cars kill people. But it’s time to wonder if Musk poses a threat to the American mind.

Got anything to say about this item—or anything else? Email me at ourland@motherjones.com.

Anatomy of a Scoop

I had a fun scoop this week. I revealed that No Labels collects its online donations through a right-wing firm called Anedot that helps raise money for far-right extremists, election deniers, and MAGA Republicans. That means that a cut of every online donation sent to No Labels goes to an outfit that aids ultra-conservative radicals and Trumpists. This seems a problem for No Labels, given that its entire schtick is that it eschews the extremism of the right and the left and calls for moderation and bipartisanship.

The group has been in the news recently because it is considering running a “unity” ticket featuring a Democrat and a Republican in 2024—a move that would likely siphon more voters from Joe Biden than Donald Trump or another Republican. That’s why Democratic strategists and Never-Trump Republicans are so worried about No Labels, a dark-money organization that won’t identify its funders—though media reports have disclosed that Harlan Crow, the right-wing billionaire benefactor of Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas and collector of Nazi memorabilia, and other Trump backers have been big donors to the group.

My story suggested that No Labels is not savvy enough to vet its vendors or, worse, didn’t care about partnering up with an ally of MAGA extremists. The piece went viral, garnering more than 2 million impressions on Twitter. Folks, naturally, asked how I got this story. I hate to admit it: It was easy.

In the second sentence of this item, I used the word “revealed.” Actually, that might be somewhat of an exaggeration. “Revealed” implies something was hidden. In this case, the Anedot connection was in plain sight.

As I was poking about No Labels’ website—searching for possible angles to write about—I clicked on its donation button. I was transferred to a contribution page in a different domain: Anedot.com. I had never heard of Anedot, but it took only a couple of Google searches to find out it was owned and overseen by a conservative advocate named Paul Dietzel, who had run unsuccessfully as a Republican for Congress, and that it had set up a service for direct donations to assorted far-right organizations and GOP politicians, including Reps. Marjorie Taylor Greene, Lauren Boebert, Matt Gaetz, and Jim Jordan.

I was surprised that no one else had previously reported on this tie between No Labels and Anedot. But…no one had. In general, the world of political data and fundraising firms is highly under-covered by the political press. It’s not tough to understand why. This is not the sexy side of politics, and these stories can lead a reporter into a highly technical realm. (Look at the story I did in 2021 on an important Democratic data firm whose owners had a side-gig: helping Republicans.) But increasingly, American politics are influenced by such players.

As for this story, it was no feat of investigative reporting. All I had to do was look. Check out the article.

Dumbass Comment of the Week

The federal indictment of Donald Trump, not surprisingly, sparked a flood of idiotic responses from the Trump faithful. House Speaker Kevin McCarthy had one of the dumbest. Asked about the indictment, which included a photograph of Trump storing boxes containing classified material in a Mar-a-Lago bathroom (with a chandelier!), the top elected Republican said, “A bathroom door locks.” I wonder if Trump will adopt the Bathroom Lock Defense for his trial. (McCarthy also sent out a fundraising email based on Trump’s lies about the indictment.)

Sen. Chuck Grassley (R-Iowa) told a reporter that he hadn’t read the 49-page Trump indictment because he’s “not a legal analyst.” This guy used to chair the Senate Judiciary Committee.

Conservative commentator Byron York posited a charming reason why Trump retained and did not return the classified material: “Souvenirs. He really liked mementos. His office in New York’s filled with them. And a letter from Kim Jong Un would fit into that. He was taken with those letters he got from Kim Jong Un. He read them to people in the Oval Office. He thought they were quite amusing.”

Trump attorney Alina Habba went on television during the Trump arraignment and proclaimed, "The people in charge of this country do not love America." As she blathered about this, MSNBC cut her off. This is modern-day red-baiting. The producers were right to pull the plug on her.

Predictably Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-Ga.) pitched a fit: “We’re doing everything we can to defund the Department of Justice, to defund the FBI.” That’s good news for drug kingpins, the mafia, terrorists (international and domestic), and Russian and Chinese spies. By the way, Greene is selling “defund the FBI” baseball hats for $30 a pop.

There were a lot of nominees for the judges to choose from. But the decision this week wasn’t hard: The winner is the team at Fox News that writes chyrons—those captions at the bottom of the screen—for this beaut that appeared as President Joe Biden was talking at the White House: “Wannabe Dictator Speaks at the White House After Having His Political Rival Arrested.”

Did the person in charge of that unit train at Russian state media or North Korean television? Rupert and Lachlan Murdoch must be so proud.

The Mailbag

I was happy to hear from many readers who decided to watch the brilliant HBO film Reality after reading about it (and my cameo appearance) in the most recent issue.

Sue Sefscik emailed:

As a (now old) woman myself, I too was disgusted at the FBI for how they treated this young, former Air Force member. They totally railroaded her. I kept worrying they were going to hurt her dog! It impressed me so much, I posted on my FB page that everyone should watch it and judge for themselves. Then, Trump got indicted!

A reader who I should not identify wrote:

In the interest of future whistleblowers and leakers for the public interest, perhaps some of these articles about Winner could advise how one avoids the time and date and location stamps on copying. I have heard that all copy machines have something like this, even if less geolocation signatures than Defense Department copiers. At home or at Staples? How can one copy without leaking ones where and or when details? Asking for a friend.

How intriguing. I replied directly. 

Erik Skamser shared this:

I read with interest today in Our Land about Reality, the movie you starred in. Congratulations, and I do look forward to watching it. But I’ve also just finished Crux, the memoir by Jean Guerrero that you recommended in your March 21st newsletter. You were right: “it will transport you to a world of conflicts and contradictions and force consideration of the mysteries in your own life.” Despite the stack of books and long list of movies on my to-do list, I appreciate your delving into entertainment and culture in Our Land–a welcome relief from our awful current events and politics. It makes Our Land even more worthwhile.

It's hardly a starring role. And I’m glad Our Land’s coverage of culture offers a productive distraction. For me, thinking and writing about movies, television shows, music, and books is not only an escape from the often-dreary world of politics but also part of my personal wellness program.

Readers also agreed with me that Pat Robertson’s obits did not do full justice to his bigotry and hate-mongering.

Mary Wujcik emailed:

I remember several years ago hearing part of an interview with Robertson in a woman asked him about demonic possession of used clothing. He took it so seriously and recommended she pray over anything she bought at Goodwill because the devil might be inhabiting the items. I've never believed in any of that claptrap, and this episode just reinforced my dislike of him and all the other "religious" pundits. I have also wondered what his explanation is for all the tornadoes, flooding, hurricanes, etc., that hit the Bible Belt. If gays, liberals, Jews, et. al., cause horrible things to happen to Blue States, what about when they happen to Red States?

Kean Arpke recalled:

I once saw a segment of the 700 Club in which Robertson emphatically stated that only Christians should be allowed to hold public office, any public office, in the U.S. This was back in the 90s.

That was one of Robertson’s themes: Christians are more patriotic than non-Christians, and government must be filled with Christians. Of course, he defined Christians as fundamentalists—what we now would call Christian nationalists. 

Cathy Crawford had this promotional message:

More and more I draw connections between American Psychosis and what is going on now. My brain is actively trying to predict the outcome this year based on everything I learned in your book about past Republican shenanigans, and I'm sure you're not surprised my conclusions are pretty scary. Thank you for another great dive into another creepy kingmaker of the GOP.

Richard Knabel wrote:

I think Robertson’s hate-mongering life probably deserves a book all its own, and you’re the man to write it. I’m reminded of Mark Twain’s timeless comment that he wished death to no man but had read many an obituary with great pleasure. I don’t know how well American Psychosis has sold, but I hope it has made you rich. It should. If I had the means I would underwrite sending a hard copy, and audio copies, to every public library in the country, to every college/university library, and to every member of every political science faculty in the hope they would adopt it as a course text. Someone also has to write a summary of how Democrats have missed so many opportunities to have an opportunity to slay the fascist dragon, or at least force the beast back into its cave.

Well, Richard, thank you. First, writing a biography compels an author to spend much time—years—with his or her subject. And I don’t think I’d like to do that with Pat Robertson, who does have a prominent role in American Psychosis. Second, American Psychosis sold well, reaching the New York Times bestsellers list, but not enough for me to quit my day job. So if you can find a billionaire who wants to adopt the promotion plan you propose, I wouldn’t mind.

MoxieCam™

“Is it summer yet?”

“No, Moxie. Not quite. But it will be in a few days.”

“But it feels like summer.”

“I suppose that’s how you see it.”

“Is there any other way?”

Read Recent Issues of Our Land

June 13, 2023: HBO’s brilliant Reality—and my appearance in it; Jenny Lewis rocks mid-life; and more.

June 10, 2023: Pat Robertson’s obits left out a key fact: his crazy antisemitic conspiracy theory; how best to post a Santos scoop; Dumbass Comment of the Week (Jay Monahan); the Mailbag; MoxieCam™; and more.

June 6, 2023: Mike Pence and the right’s revival of its war on gay America; CNN CEO’s big fail; 65 and a bad day to get stranded on Earth; Joy Oladokun’s effort to be the “Black Bruce Springsteen”; and more.

June 3, 2023: What the GOP’s hostage-taking in the debt ceiling fight tells us about regulating rogue AI; Dumbass Comment of the Week (Jenna Ellis and Glenn Greenwald); the Mailbag; MoxieCam™; and more.

May 31, 2023: What the hell is Ron DeSantis thinking?; Moonage Daydream is too dreamy; Tina Turner’s “Whole Lotta Love”; and more.

May 27, 2023: How the media aid and abet GOP hostage-takers; Henry Kissinger at 100, still a war criminal; Dumbass Comment of the Week (Pat McCrory); the Mailbag; MoxieCam™; and more.

May 23, 2023: Is contextualizing old movies the same as canceling them?; the Citadel is a forgettable spy show; The Independent needed a rewrite; and more.

May 20, 2023: Lions, rhinos, elephants, and soft power in Africa; more from Namibia; Dumbass Comment of the Week (Elon Musk); the Mailbag; MoxieCam™; and more.

May 17, 2023: My visit to a famous prison cell; more photos from Robben Island; and more.

May 13, 2023: From the Our Land archives: Can you still watch your old favorite movies?

Got suggestions, comments, complaints, tips related to any of the above, or anything else? Email me at ourland@motherjones.com.