Elon Musk Sued for Spreading Conspiracy Theories on Twitter/X
Elon Musk’s Twitter – umm, X – finger has led him into quite a bit of controversy over the years, including some that ended in the courtroom. Earlier this year, Musk echoed claims that a California college student was involved in a public confrontation between two neo-Nazi groups in Oregon. That turned out not to be true, but the Tesla CEO tweeted about it anyway, and the victim at the center of the hoax is now suing.
Ben Brody, a 22-year-old college student, became the focus of a conspiracy theory, as several accounts outed him as being present at a brawl between two groups in Oregon in June. Musk waded into the mess, claiming Brody’s participation was proof of a false flag operation.
Around the same time as the conspiracy theories, Musk was also tweeting links to a right-wing site that Alex Jones often used as the basis for his awful Sandy Hook conspiracies. Among other things, Jones claimed that the Sandy Hook shooting wasn’t real, stating that the parents were crisis actors.
Brody’s suing over the claims, and they’ve retained the services of attorney Mark Bankston, the same guy that won a $49 million settlement for Sandy Hook families, which later ballooned to $1.5 billion in a separate trial. The lawsuit claims that Brody is still dealing with the consequences of the rumors, and his attorney said he’s worried that the situation will interfere with his ability to pursue his goal of working in government.
[Image: Sergei Elagin via Shutterstock]
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Chris grew up in, under, and around cars, but took the long way around to becoming an automotive writer. After a career in technology consulting and a trip through business school, Chris began writing about the automotive industry as a way to reconnect with his passion and get behind the wheel of a new car every week. He focuses on taking complex industry stories and making them digestible by any reader. Just don’t expect him to stay away from high-mileage Porsches.
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It's time to play "First Amendment F*ck Around And Find Out", ladies and gents! And today's contestant is Elon Musk.
(Sorry, Mr. Musk, there's a big difference between "free speech" and "consequence-free speech." )
And let's talk about the "free speech platform" for a moment, shall we?
If I went on Twitter...wait, I mean "X"...to spread conspiracy theories and someone successfully sued me for millions of dollars, I'd be ruined. But millions of dollars is pocket lint for Elon Musk. Therefore, I wouldn't "get away" with it, but Musk would. Same is true for anyone who's filthy rich - they just pay the money and keep on doing whatever they want.
Just as there are in so many other facets of American life, there are two free speech realities - one for the rich (or the connected), and one for the rest of us. Musk knows this.
"...he’s worried that the situation will interfere with his ability to pursue his goal of working in government."
Well, thank Christ for Musk, then. Last thing we need is a punk kid that aspires to a government job. Sometimes action is needed to spare these idiots from themselves (and, more importantly, us.)
I'm not buying any of Musk's BS until he steps into the ring with Zuckerberg. Musk dropped the challenge, Mark picked it up, Musk pussed out. 2 men enter, 1 man leaves- you know the law.