New owner of Twitter Elon Musk landed himself in hot water among Twitter users after posting a tweet about the attack on House Speaker Nancy Pelosi’s (D-Calif.) husband Paul Pelosi.
The tweet came in response to a post written by former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton.
Over the weekend, she wrote, “The Republican Party and its mouthpieces now regularly spread hate and deranged conspiracy theories.”
She added, “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.”
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
In a since-deleted tweet, Musk replied, “There is a tiny possibility there might be more to this story than meets the eye.”
The billionaire linked to an article published by the Santa Monica Observer that made a claim about the attack.
The New York Times cited a 2021 editorial published by The Los Angeles Times about websites that “masquerade as legitimate local newspapers” pointing out the Santa Monica Observer “owned by onetime City Council candidate David Ganezer, is notorious for publishing false news.”
Users were quick to call out Musk for spreading conspiracy theories.
TV producer Danny Zuker tweeted, “So we can spread unsubstantiated rumors here now? Cool, ‘cause I read this post by some doctor who says that Teslas cause erectile disfunction.”
So we can spread unsubstantiated rumors here now? Cool, ‘cause I read this post by some doctor who says that Teslas cause erectile disfunction. https://t.co/UlQIqDApAC
— Danny Zuker (@DannyZuker) October 30, 2022
Writer Jamie Ford wrote, “Imagine if the CEO of Apple was posting messages to iPhone users that said, ‘I dunno, there’s a possibility that Elon Musk murders and eats children in his basement…'”
Imagine if the CEO of Apple was posting messages to iPhone users that said, "I dunno, there's a possibility that Elon Musk murders and eats children in his basement…" https://t.co/cQ6cEnfkkC
— Jamie Ford (@JamieFord) October 30, 2022
One user asked, “How do you complain to Twitter about misinformation on Twitter when Mr. Twitter is doing the misinforming?”
Serious question. How do you complain to Twitter about misinformation on Twitter when Mr. Twitter is doing the misinforming? https://t.co/1X7Scx32YS
— W. Kamau Bell (@wkamaubell) October 30, 2022
Read more reactions below:
Twitter’s new owner makes Facebook’s owner look like he has integrity 🙃 https://t.co/w4LwEk8NXh
— Chanda Prescod-Weinstein (@IBJIYONGI) October 30, 2022
Ummm helllooooooooo advertisers on Twitter??? This is ridiculous https://t.co/yEgIcEBTat
— UltraViolet (@UltraViolet) October 30, 2022
That sound you hear is @twitter advertisers shredding their contracts en masse. https://t.co/u8rNjGrKRW
— Kim (@kim) October 30, 2022
I predict that Twitter’s advertising revenue scales meaningfully over the next two years through a concerted effort at building attribution infrastructure for a DR product. Advertisers don’t need “confidence” in platform content — they care about commercial results. https://t.co/gzaFTLCLDG
— Eric Seufert (@eric_seufert) October 30, 2022
Never thought I'd be able to loathe someone as viscerally as I loathe Trump. But I've got to hand it to Elon, he's putting the work in to prove me wrong. https://t.co/wYtZqjoLm6
— Michael Marshall Smith (@ememess) October 30, 2022
It's as bad as we thought.😫 https://t.co/Sa3PG2BVfO
— Christopher Bouzy (spoutible.com/cbouzy) (@cbouzy) October 30, 2022
Welcome to the @elonmusk's hell-site. https://t.co/vvo32KLG8k
— Ethan Sacks (@ethanjsacks) October 30, 2022
https://twitter.com/geekgirldiva/status/1586717340393086978
Law enforcement sources briefed on the investigation told CBS News the suspect in the attack had a list of people he was looking to target.
David Wayne DePape, the man accused of attacking Paul Pelosi with a hammer in his home last week, may have been plotting to attack more people, according to the sources.