NYT: Musk Spreads Election Lies Without Restraint

The New York Times reports:

In the spring of 2020, when President Donald J. Trump wrote messages on Twitter warning that increased reliance on mail-in ballots would lead to a “rigged election,” the platform ran a corrective, debunking his claims. “Get the facts about mail-in voting,” a content label read. “Experts say mail-in ballots are very rarely linked to voter fraud,” the hyperlinked article declared.

This month, Elon Musk echoed several of Mr. Trump’s claims about the American voting system, putting forth distorted and false notions that American elections were wide open for fraud and illegal voting by noncitizens. This time, there were no fact checks. And the X algorithm — under Mr. Musk’s direct control — helped the posts reach large audiences, in some cases drawing many millions of views.

Read the full article. Gift link here.

“No major media owner of the modern era has used his national platform to insert himself so personally and aggressively into an American election.” https://t.co/bj2QN9wmbP

— Lyn Jeffery (@LynJ) January 25, 2024