Elon Musk shared an article from a fringe website claiming that the personal life of Nancy Pelosi's husband played a role in last week's attack at the couple's San Francisco home.
WASHINGTON — Elon Musk on Sunday tweeted a link to an unfounded rumor about the attack on House Speaker Nancy Pelosi's husband, just days after Musk's purchase of Twitter fueled concerns that the social media platform would no longer seek to limit misinformation and hate speech.Musk's tweet, which he later deleted, linked to an article by a fringe website, the Santa Monica Observer
In this case, the article recycled a baseless claim that the personal life of Paul Pelosi, the speaker's husband, somehow played a role in an intruder's attack last week in the couple's San Francisco home, even though there is no evidence to support that claim. The Los Angeles Times, the dominant news organization in the Southern California area where the Observer is located, has said the Observer is "notorious for fake news."
Police say the attack was "intentional" and not random but have not stated publicly what they consider to be the motive. Musk himself said Friday that he would form a "content moderation council" for Twitter and promised advertisers that the website would not devolve into a "free for all hellscape." Musk has also described himself as a "free speech absolutist."