The new Twitter owner Elon Musk (51) has spread a conspiracy theory in the online service about the attack on the husband of American top politician Nancy Pelosi (82). “There’s a slim chance there’s more to this story,” the billionaire wrote on the forwarded link on Sunday. Musk has 112 million followers on Twitter.
Paul Pelosi, 82, was attacked and injured with a hammer at the couple’s home in San Francisco on Friday night. According to police, the attacker demanded a meeting with the Speaker of the US House of Representatives. But Nancy Pelosi was in Washington. The 42-year-old attacker was arrested. He is suspected of attempted murder. Authorities initially gave no information about the suspected motive.
Musk deleted the tweet again
The conspiracy theory retweeted by Musk on the Santa Monica Observer website suggests without any evidence that Pelosi may have gotten into an argument with a man he himself let in. The police clearly speak of a burglary.
Musk’s tweet responded to a message from former Democratic presidential candidate Hillary Clinton, who tweeted a link to an article about the attacker’s interest in right-wing conspiracy theories. The Santa Monica Observer website is also known for writing in 2016 that Hillary Clinton had died and was replaced by a look-alike.
Twitter boss previously provoked
Musk has since deleted the tweet, but it still caused a stir around the world. The tweet was available at this link, now it’s gone. Musk silently deleted the tweet without a correction message.
The new Twitter owner had given as one reason for the takeover that freedom of expression there was becoming too restricted. Most recently, however, Musk wrote in an open letter to advertisers that Twitter should not become a “place of horror” where everything can be said without consequences. The service should be “warm and welcoming to all”.
Musk has often pushed boundaries with provocative tweets. In February, for example, he caused outrage with a post he shared about Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau. Alongside a photo of Adolf Hitler, the tweet read: “Stop comparing me to Justin Trudeau. I had a household.” Musk subsequently deleted the tweet. (zis/SDA)