Elon Musk—Musk personally amplified conspiracy theories and far-right disinformation to his 200M+ X followers
From 2023-2024, Musk used his X account (the most-followed on the platform) to systematically amplify conspiracy theories and far-right disinformation. He endorsed the antisemitic 'great replacement' conspiracy theory, boosted anti-immigrant conspiracy theories about Haitian immigrants, amplified accounts like @EndWokeness and @libsoftiktok (which inspired bomb threats at a children's hospital), and shared election fraud conspiracies. A 2023 Science Feedback analysis found 'super-spreader' disinformation accounts saw a 42% increase in engagement, with Musk personally interacting with their top posts.
Scoring Impact
| Topic | Direction | Relevance | Contribution |
|---|---|---|---|
| Democratic Institutions | -against | secondary | -0.50 |
| Misinformation | +toward | primary | -1.00 |
| Overall incident score = | -0.725 | ||
Score = avg(topic contributions) × significance (high ×1.5) × confidence (0.64)
Evidence (2 signals)
NBC News documented a month of Musk's conspiracy theory and far-right content amplification on X
NBC News conducted a detailed content analysis of Musk's X posts, documenting systematic promotion of conspiracy theories, fringe politics, and self-promotion. The analysis showed Musk regularly boosted anti-immigrant conspiracy theories, election fraud claims, and far-right content to his 200M+ followers, with his misinformation posts receiving hundreds of times more views than official fact-checks.
EU Digital Media Observatory documented how Musk's personal disinformation machine works
EDMO (European Digital Media Observatory) published a detailed analysis of Musk's systematic amplification of disinformation, documenting his endorsement of the antisemitic 'great replacement' conspiracy theory, amplification of anti-immigrant conspiracy theories, and personal boosting of accounts like @EndWokeness and @libsoftiktok. Science Feedback found 'super-spreader' accounts gained 42% more engagement after Musk's acquisition.