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Billionaire Elon Musk was called out after he tweeted and ultimately deleted a conspiracy theory about the attack on House Speaker Nancy Pelosi's husband Paul Pelosi, who survived after being repeatedly struck with a hammer during a home invasion.
Shortly after the attack, former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton posted a Los Angeles Times article about the attack and denounced the Republican Party "and its mouthpieces [who] now regularly spread hate and deranged conspiracy theories."
\u201cThe 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.\n\nhttps://t.co/MQor4NDFeE\u201d— Hillary Clinton (@Hillary Clinton) 1667064871
As if to prove Clinton's point, Musk replied that there might be "a tiny possibility there might be more to this story than meets the eye," attaching a link to an article from the far-right Santa Monica Observer claiming that Pelosi was attacked by a lover he met at a bar in the middle of the night.
There is no truth to that allegation, and local authorities confirmed that Pelosi and his attacker did not know each other.
Musk deleted his tweet hours later without providing an explanation or an apology but not before nimble Twitter users took screenshots.
\u201cunreal\u201d— Christian Vanderbrouk \ud83c\uddfa\ud83c\uddf8\ud83c\uddfa\ud83c\udde6\ud83c\udf3b (@Christian Vanderbrouk \ud83c\uddfa\ud83c\uddf8\ud83c\uddfa\ud83c\udde6\ud83c\udf3b) 1667134148
Musk's tweet came just days after he acquired Twitter. He was forced by a court to follow through with a $44 billion deal to buy the company after a failed attempt to abandon it and complaints about the social media platforms moderation rules.
Musk's behavior prompted many to opine that it does not bode well for the future of Twitter, which Musk has insisted needs to go private if it wants to become a platform for free speech.
Musk has been harshly criticized as a result.
\u201cElon Musk making it clear that he truly is a right wing child fooled by obvious lies.\u201d— Matthew Sheffield (@Matthew Sheffield) 1667165174
\u201cThis is part of the Rightwing playbook. Cause hysteria with conspiracies & lies. Have one of your lunatics whose mind has been melted by Rightwing propaganda cause violence. Spread more lies, claiming violence was caused by said groups you spread lies & conspiracies about.\u201d— Rob Israel (@Rob Israel) 1667157057
\u201cMusk is gonna make twitter worse than it already is.\u201d— Bob Bonner (@Bob Bonner) 1667159906
\u201cWhat $44 billion propaganda looks like.\u201d— Christopher McMistopher (@Christopher McMistopher) 1667160383
\u201c@lifesafeast #BlockTwitterAdvertisers \n\n@ElonMusk Thursday: \u201cTwitter aspires to be the most respected advertising platform in the world.\u201d \n\nSunday: Please enjoy my heinous display of bigotry and hateful conspiracy theories against an 82-year-old assault victim.\n\n https://t.co/e5T58mshui\u201d— Jamie Schler (@Jamie Schler) 1667188923
\u201cThe only thing surprising about this is how quickly Musk started using his new toy as a tool to amplify and spread blatant right-wing disinformation.\u201d— Scott Shields (@Scott Shields) 1667219395
\u201cNo wonder MAGA loves Musk. Their latest hero is as gullible as them.\u201d— GladysRoot (@GladysRoot) 1667222461
\u201c@elonmusk Really? Don\u2019t you even think before you send this stuff ?\u201d— LouNZAnne (@LouNZAnne) 1667224060
Paul Pelosi was attacked with a hammer at the couple's residence in the Pacific Heights neighborhood of San Francisco, California on October 28. He was seriously injured underwent surgery for a fractured skull; his doctors expect him to make a full recovery.
David DePape, a 42-year-old California man, was arrested at the scene on suspicion of attempted homicide and other felonies. He had intended to kill Speaker Pelosi and yelled, "Where is Nancy, where is Nancy?" during the attack, according to police who arrested DePape at the scene.
DePape had embraced far-right political conspiracy theories including QAnon, Pizzagate, ideas related to COVID-19 vaccine misinformation, and Holocaust denial.