‘It literally says ‘Not Elon Musk’: A Republican journalist foolishly fell for an Elon Musk parody post
Republican reporter Megyn Kelly was ecstatic about Elon Musk potentially buying news channel MSNBC. She was so happy about the prospect that she didn’t fact-check twice before unleashing her celebratory tweet.
The alleged Musk tweet wrote, “MSNBC is going up for sale. Should I buy it?” It wasn’t Musk who tweeted that, but a parody account. Kelly missed the information and tweeted, “Omg, DO IT.” Other Twitter users were quick to notice that she wasn’t quoting the real Elon Musk. One reporter stated, “It literally says not Elon Musk.” Some further tore into Kelly’s assumption to shreds online. One wrote, “Megyn Kelly is proof that you can be loud, wrong, and somehow still get a platform. It’s like watching someone argue with a GPS.”
The Real Elon Musk asks for MSNBC’s selling price
It’s easy to fault Kelly for replying to a parody account. Nevertheless, even the real Elon Musk and Donald Trump Jr. are joking about buying the MSNBC if it goes up for sale. Trump Jr. told Musk that he could ‘do the funniest thing ever,’ and Musk playfully asked how much MSNBC would be.
Comcast isn’t putting MSNBC up for sale. Instead, they intend to spin off MSNBC and other cable television networks into a separate, publicly traded company. Corporately, MSNBC will be separate from NBC News—this doesn’t mean that it will be sold to another company. Regardless, it’s disconcerting for Trump Jr. and Musk to be joking about purchasing the channel.
After all, MSNBC has been highly critical of Donald Trump even outside of the 2024 presidential campaign. Host Rachel Maddow, in particular, is vocal for her criticism of right-wing figures, Republicans, and Trump. It’s no wonder that the MAGA crowd couldn’t wait to replace her should Musk acquire MSNBC. Musk has joked about buying Twitter before, and come 2022, he bought the platform. Musk’s (extremely) friendly relationship with Trump is a strong incentive for him to buy a channel that constantly criticizes the incoming president.
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