Earlier this week, a user on X posted a screenshot claiming to show a post by Elon Musk, the owner of the social media platform. In the alleged post, Musk responded to a user’s warning about someone spreading “a hoax that you’re a pedophile.” According to the claim, Musk’s reply read, “That was no hoax. I am a pedophile.”
The post went viral immediately and received around 28,000 likes in 24 hours. However, while the posts trying to warn Musk about the hoax were real, the one with Musk’s name on it claiming, “I am a pedophile” was not. Musk’s reply is completely fake and fabricated and most likely photoshopped.
Completely Fake
Never replied to the queries of other users warning him about the hoax and he never posted, “That was no hoax. I am a pedophile.” The screenshot is completely fake. As expected, there is also no corresponding post in Musk’s feed.
Additionally, the fake post displays a “Follow” button next to Musk’s name, whereas his genuine posts feature a “Subscribe” button.
Moreover, there is a typographic inconsistency: the dots on the lowercase letter “i” in the term “pedophile” and the two periods in the fake post are square-shaped, while the dots in the real posts above the fake one are round.
A close look at the fake post will prove that someone photoshopped the image and tampered with photos to generate the post.
Musk Busy
X
The post intended to spread misinformation and malign Musk, who has been keeping rather busy lately. He has particularly been busy with his startup Neuralink.
On Monday, Musk revealed that Neuralink, his human technology startup, has successfully implanted a chip into the brain of its first human test participant.
The billionaire said that the unnamed person underwent craniectomy surgery to have the chip implanted into their brain on Sunday and is currently in good recovery.
Musk introduced the product named ‘Telepathy’ and said that he hopes it will allow users with disabilities, such as Stephen Hawking, to communicate at a speed surpassing that of an auctioneer.
He said that it will “enable control of your phone or computer, and through them almost any device, just by thinking.” This marks a major step in empowering human brain.
The brain chip, equipped with 1,000 electrodes, aims to enable people to wirelessly execute computer functions by simply thinking about their desired actions, using a “think-and-click” mechanism.
