New York CNN —
Elon Musk is using his social media platform to promote misinformation about the presidential candidates in the lead up to the November election, amplifying false claims Wednesday about a Trump rally bomb threat and immigrants eating pets in Ohio.
While Musk’s posting of provocative, incendiary content on X is nothing new, the speed with which he has promoted false claims in recent days is striking given the breadth of Musk’s digital reach, with his posts regularly finding their way atop users’ feeds.
The most prominent of Musk’s conspiratorial posts came in the wake of an alleged second assassination attempt on former President Donald Trump, after which Musk wrote in a now-deleted X post that “no one is even trying to assassinate Biden/Kamala.” After much backlash, Musk, who has pledged his support for Trump, ultimately deleted his post, stating that it was meant as a “joke.”
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During the same weekend, however, Musk also joined a chorus of conspiracy-minded X users circulating a hoax “affidavit” from a purported “whistleblower” that claimed last week’s ABC News debate was rigged to help Kamala Harris. ABC has since confirmed the typo-ridden document was fake.
Then on Wednesday, Musk reshared a bogus claim that a bomb had been discovered near the site of a planned Trump rally in Long Island. Police said in a statement that “reports of explosives being found at the site are unfounded.”
While Musk’s...
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