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Fast Take
Social media posts falsely declare that Elon Musk banned writer Stephen King from X, the social media platform owned by Musk. The rumor that King was banned originated on a satirical web site. King’s X account stays lively, and he used it on Nov. 13 to debunk the declare.
Full Story
Whereas Vice President Kamala Harris drew help from progressive celebrities throughout her marketing campaign, President-elect Donald Trump had the help of conservative figures, including Elon Musk, the CEO of Tesla and SpaceX and proprietor of the social media platform X.
Musk’s help of Trump has ceaselessly drawn the fire of writer Stephen King, a longtime critic of Trump. Not too long ago, social media posts falsely claimed Musk banned King from X after the writer insulted him on-line.
A Nov. 10 Threads post confirmed photographs of Musk and King, with textual content that claimed, “Elon Musk Bans Stephen King Completely From Platform X After He Trolled the Tech Mogul.”
Most of the social media posts baselessly claimed Musk had banned King from X after the writer allegedly known as him “The First Woman.” Posts on Threads mocked Musk for allegedly silencing his critic, with one reading, “So Stephen King was completely banned from Twitter for calling Mr. Free Speech himself Elon Musk, ‘The First Woman.’ That’s humorous.”
However King has not been exiled from X; his account continues to be lively. King responded to the declare on a Nov. 13 post on X, saying, “I see there’s a rumor going round that I known as the Musk-man Trump’s new first woman. I didn’t, however solely as a result of I didn’t consider it. There’s additionally a rumor going round that Muskie kicked me off Twitter. But right here I’m.”
The declare that King had been banned from the platform appears to have stemmed from a satirical article posted in July on the web site Esspots, with the headline, “Elon Musk Bans Stephen King Completely From Platform X After He Trolled the Tech Mogul.” The location had labeled it satire — a element misplaced on many who reshared it as truth.
Esspots is a subsidiary of the satire web site SpaceXMania, which “orbits round Elon Musk.” SpaceXMania doesn’t disclose writer data on its web site, however the New York Times reported that the location’s operator relies in Pakistan. The hyperlink was shared by the Fb deal with SpaceX Fanclub, which additionally famous that it was satire.
King, who has a historical past of criticizing Musk, has been the topic of earlier rumors that he left the platform. In January 2023, King wrote on X: “There are persistent rumors that I’ve left Twitter. I’ve not. I could achieve this ultimately, there are lots of issues in regards to the Musk iteration of the location that I don’t take care of, however that day is just not at the moment. You don’t repair a factor by leaving it.”
King has trolled Musk over his political leanings and pro-Trump posts on X. On Nov. 3, King wrote, “The Musk-man has posted 3,000 instances on Twitter within the final month. Most are pro-Trump disinformation and outright lies. Bear in mind, he has pores and skin within the recreation. Contemplate his posts accordingly.”
Earlier this 12 months, King additionally steered that President Joe Biden ought to step apart in favor of a brand new Democratic candidate, prompting Musk to answer, “Even Stephen King is voting for Trump!” That, too, isn’t true. King supported Harris.
Editor’s be aware: FactCheck.org is considered one of a number of organizations working with Facebook to debunk misinformation shared on social media. Our earlier tales may be discovered here. Fb has no control over our editorial content material.
Sources
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Kurtz, Judy and Amie Parnes. “A-list celebrity endorsements boomerang on Harris, Democrats.” The Hill. 9 Nov 2024.
Ramachandrian, Naman. “‘Trump Was a Horrible President and Is a Horrible Person,’ Says Stephen King.” Selection. 15 Aug 2022.
Specter, Emma. “From the Obamas to Charli XCX, 16 Celebrities Who Have Endorsed Kamala Harris for President.” Vogue. 24 Jul 2024.
Stephen King (@StephenKing). “I see there’s a rumor going around that I called the Musk-man Trump’s new first lady. I didn’t, but only because I didn’t think of it. There’s also a rumor going around that Muskie kicked me off Twitter. Yet here I am.” X. 13 Nov 2024.
Stephen King (@StephenKing). “There are persistent rumors that I have left Twitter. I have not. I may do so eventually; there are many things about the Musk iteration of the site that I don’t care for, but that day is not today. You don’t fix a thing by leaving it.” X. 8 Jan 2023.
Thompson, Stuart A. “Fake News Still Has a Home on Facebook.” New York Instances. 13 Jun 2024.
