Elon Musk, Twitter's new owner, tweets conspiracy theory about attack on Paul Pelosi - CNN

CNN  — 

Elon Musk connected Sunday gave credence to a fringe conspiracy mentation astir the convulsive onslaught connected Paul Pelosi.

The caller Twitter proprietor tweeted a nexus to an nonfiction afloat of baseless claims astir Pelosi. The nonfiction was posted connected a website that purports to beryllium a quality outlet.

Musk, who has 112 cardinal followers connected the level helium present owns, posted the baseless communicative astir Pelosi successful effect to a tweet from Hilary Clinton astatine 8:15 americium ET. He aboriginal deleted the tweet astir 2 pm, but not earlier racking up much than 28,000 retweets and 100,000 likes.

Linking to a Los Angeles Times communicative astir Pelosi’s alleged attacker, Clinton wrote, “The Republican Party and its mouthpieces present regularly dispersed hatred and deranged conspiracy theories. It is shocking, but not surprising, that unit is the result. As citizens, we indispensable clasp them accountable for their words and the actions that follow.”

In response, Musk linked to the baseless story, and wrote, “There is simply a tiny anticipation determination mightiness beryllium much to this communicative than meets the eye.”

In 2016 the aforesaid website falsely claimed that Clinton had died and that the idiosyncratic connected the statesmanlike run way was not Clinton but her assemblage double.

Musk’s station comes amid concerns astir how the billionaire volition tally Twitter and if misinformation and hatred volition beryllium fixed a bigger level connected the site.

A Twitter spokesperson did not instantly instrumentality a CNN petition for comment.

Musk’s takeover — which was finalized Thursday night, a root acquainted with the substance told CNN — not lone has the imaginable to make upheaval for Twitter (TWTR) employees but besides for the hundreds of millions of radical astir the satellite who usage the level daily. It could besides interaction the upcoming US midterm elections, if Musk makes bully connected his committedness to restore the accounts of users who were antecedently banned from the platform, astir notably erstwhile US President Donald Trump, and bounds the company’s contented restrictions.

In the archetypal weeks aft agreeing to bargain the institution successful April, and earlier his archetypal determination to bail connected the deal, Musk repeatedly stressed that his extremity was to bolster “free speech” connected the level and enactment to “unlock” Twitter’s “extraordinary potential.” The Tesla CEO suggested helium would rethink Twitter’s attack to contented moderation and imperishable bans, with imaginable impacts connected civilian sermon and the governmental landscape. He besides talked astir his tendency to escaped the level of bots, adjacent arsenic helium aboriginal made the fig of bots cardinal to his statement to wantonness the deal.

CNN’s Clare Duffy contributed to this report