An analysis by the Center for Countering Digital Hate (CCDH), a nonprofit organization that monitors misinformation, revealed that Elon Musk’s posts about the 2024 US presidential election have spread extensive misinformation, generating over 2 billion views on his platform, X.
According to CNN, the analysis found that many of Musk’s posts, which largely support former President Donald Trump, contain false and misleading information.
Since endorsing Trump in July, Musk has amplified his political influence, supporting the Republican candidate with his social media reach and substantial financial backing. He donated over $118 million to a pro-Trump super PAC and joined the former President’s campaign in Pennsylvania.
Musk’s posts have reached a massive audience, with election-related content from his account receiving over 17.1 billion views. CCDH reports that this reach is equivalent to about $24 million in political ad spending and surpasses the reach of all paid political ads on X combined.
The CCDH analysis highlighted 87 of Musk’s posts that contained election-related falsehoods, including the debunked claim that undocumented immigrants are voting in large numbers for Democrats.
Musk’s posts frequently promote a far-right theory accusing Democrats of “importing voters” by allegedly flying millions of undocumented immigrants into the US to vote in swing states, a baseless claim that fact-checkers have repeatedly refuted.
Speaking with CNN on Saturday, Imran Ahmed, the founder of CCDH, said, “Given the sheer frequency of Elon Musk’s posting of disinformation and partisan rhetoric, it is almost inevitable that he will be one of the top spreaders of election-related disinformation in this cycle.”
Ahmed, who has criticized Musk’s approach to content management on X, warned that the platform has become a “perpetual disinformation machine” since Musk scaled back protections against misinformation after acquiring the site in 2022.
X’s transparency around political ad spending allowed CCDH to calculate the influence of Musk’s election-related posts. The group estimates Musk’s messages supporting Trump and criticising Vice President Kamala Harris have a value comparable to $24 million in political advertising.
Musk and CCDH have clashed publicly before. Musk labelled the nonprofit a “criminal organisation” and sued it last year, though a federal judge dismissed the case.
Recently, Musk criticised CCDH again after internal documents emerged showing the nonprofit aimed to counter what it calls Musk’s “pro-disinformation business model.”
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