New Twitter owner Elon Musk posted an unfounded homophobic conspiracy theory Sunday morning. The theory in question comes from a website with a history of publishing false information.
Musk responded to Hillary Clinton when she tweeted a Los Angeles Times story about David DePape, the suspect in the attack on House Speaker Nancy Pelosi’s husband Paul. According to the article, DePape believed in and spread far-right conspiracy theories.
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.https://t.co/MQor4NDFeE
— Hillary Clinton (@HillaryClinton) October 29, 2022
Musk tweeted to Clinton at 8:15 a.m. Sunday morning, linking to a conspiracy theory from a website called the Santa Monica Observer. The article questioned the circumstances behind the attack on Paul Pelosi. “There is a possibility there might be more to this story than meets the eye,” Musk wrote. As of Sunday, the website is no longer accessible.
And Elon just tweeted it. pic.twitter.com/GnZkxPd4VL
— Ben Collins (@oneunderscore__) October 30, 2022
Elon Musk’s conspiracy theory debunked
Elon Musk deleted the conspiracy-laden tweet by early Sunday morning. By then, it had around 24,000 retweets and 86,000 likes, and it was gaining more traction. The fact-checking site Media Bias/Fact Check called the Santa Monica Observer a “questionable source.” Their rating was due to “the routine publication of false and misleading information and use of poor sources.”
Musk did not respond to a request for comment. However, San Francisco police shared information with NBC News that contradicts the claims that Musk linked to. Though the Observer claimed that there may have been a third person in the Pelosi home, police said only two people- The Pelosis- were at home at the time of the attack.
Police also characterized the incident as a “violent break-in” and confirmed that Pelosi and the suspect didn’t know each other before the attack. This was also in contrary to claims by the Santa Monica Observer.
Robert Rueca, a public information officer for San Francisco PD, said on Sunday that the incident report will not be released while the investigation is active.
Written by Olan Bryant
