Elon Musk pulled an “unique present” from ABC, calling the community: “A shame to the media trade.”
A rumor that Elon Musk pulled an “unique present” from ABC was circulating on-line on Sept. 12, 2024. One Facebook post (archived) mentioned the tech billionaire known as the community “a shame to the media trade” when cancelling the the challenge.
The declare additionally appeared on an internet site known as Esspots.com, which wrote: “The most recent drama unfolded after Musk pulled the plug on his extremely anticipated unique present with ABC.”
Esspots.com then mentioned the present would have been known as “Elon’s House Odyssey,” which the web site described as “a mix of ‘Survivor,’ ‘Shark Tank,’ and ‘Star Trek’ — all rolled into one.”
(SpaceX Fanclub Fb web page)
Some social media customers appeared to take the rumor as reality. One Fb consumer who shared the publish said (archived): “They freely cheated on a presidential election! They don’t seem to be journalists, they’re biased terrorists who ought to be tried for treason!” One other wrote (archived): “Good for him. Standing up for his beliefs.”
Nonetheless, there was no evidence Musk pulled a present from ABC or had a tv present in growth with the community. Likewise, no credible news outlets reported on the rumor.
A search for the precise phrases “Elon Musk” and “a shame to the media trade,” in addition to “ABC,” uncovered no proof of the X and Tesla proprietor ever producing the “shame to the media trade” remarks.
Fairly, the declare about “Elon’s House Odyssey” originated with the article posted by Esspots — an internet site that described its output as being humorous or satirical in nature, and a part of the identical community because the SpaceX Fanclub Fb web page. Esspots’ “About Us” web page said:
Welcome to the US web page of Esspots (A Subsidiary of SpaceXMania.com specializing in Satire and Parody Information), your one-stop vacation spot for satirical information and commentary about america of America. Our staff of writers and editors is devoted to bringing you the most recent and biggest in pretend information and absurdity, all with a wholesome dose of humor and satire.
The Esspots article was additionally labeled as satire, as was the picture within the SpaceX Fanclub Fb publish. SpaceX Fanclub additionally described itself as a “Satire/parody” account.
Additional, the “ABC” brand pictured within the article and the Fb publish belonged to the Australian Broadcasting Company, not the American Broadcasting Firm (ABC community).
The fictional story unfold after ABC hosted the U.S. presidential debate between Vice President Kamala Harris and former President Donald Trump on Sept. 10, 2024. After the competition, claims relating to the community emerged, such because the false story of an “ABC whistleblower” dying in a automotive crash, in addition to satirical claims the community fired the debate moderators and lost $27 million in promoting income.
Snopes has addressed comparable satirical claims about Musk and ABC up to now, together with the rumor the tech billionaire sued Whoopi Goldberg and “The View,” that he deliberate to buy ABC with a view to cancel “The View,” and that he really did buy ABC and fired the cast of “The View.”
For background, right here is why we alert readers to rumors created by sources that decision their output humorous or satirical.
