The billionaire ally of US President-elect Donald Trump has reacted to claims that the news agency was pushed to investigate him
US billionaire Elon Musk has expressed support for an online theory that links the Reuters international news agency with investigations into his businesses by the current administration of US President Joe Biden.
Musk, a close ally of US president-elect Donald Trump, has called the purported connection “insane” and claimed it “explains a lot.” Reuters is “paid propaganda” that should be ashamed, he added.
The connection was suggested by Mike Benz, who heads the self-described pro-free speech website Foundation For Freedom Online. On Tuesday, he alleged in a post on X that the outgoing Biden administration “paid Reuters over $300 million in government contracts” while simultaneously 11 US government agencies “targeted Elon’s businesses.”
Benz cited public records reported by the database usaspending.gov as evidence of his claim, as well as a series of reports by Reuters about the entrepreneur that won a Pulitzer Prize in May. The series on ‘The Musk Industrial Complex’ focused on “grave harms to consumers, workers and laboratory animals across Elon Musk’s manufacturing empire.”
The billionaire emerged as a close ally of Trump after endorsing his candidacy in mid-July. He is slated to become a senior member of the incoming US administration responsible for cutting government inefficiency.
Prior to picking a side in the US race, Musk was heavily criticized by left-leading public figures and media outlets for his management of X, formerly known as Twitter, which he purchased in 2022. The stated objective of his multibillion-dollar acquisition was to eradicate censorship on the platform, which he claimed was silencing pro-conservative voices.
Critics claim that Musk has turned X into a hotbed of right-wing extremism, while failing to live up to the promise of free speech. The EU has threatened the platform with legal penalties for allegedly failing to tackle “disinformation.”
Last week, the Musk Foundation was accused of failing to meet US requirements for charitable organizations, based on its latest tax returns submitted to the Internal Revenue Service (IRS).
The New York Times has since reported that the billionaire and his firm SpaceX are being investigated for compliance with US rules on classified information. Musk responded to the report by stating that “deep state traitors are coming after me, using their paid shills in legacy media.”
In March, Musk stated that “The legacy media lies as easy as breathing,” and that “Reuters is the worst right now.”