As Elon Musk Continues To Repeat Lies About Who And What USAID Funded, Turns Out, It Funded Elon Musk
Last week, we highlighted how the richest person on the planet — Elon Musk, who currently appears to have unparalleled, Constitutionally-violating control over the US government — was running around repeating every confused 4chan dipshit’s conspiracy theory about USAID, all of which were easily debunked if you… understood how reality worked.
Now it turns out that someone actually was getting USAID money: Elon Musk.
The conspiracy theories were absolute bullshit. For example, we explored how an anonymous account on ExTwitter convinced Elon Musk that conservative pundit Bill Kristol had received USAID funds based on an embarrassing total misunderstanding of what a “donor advised fund” actually is. As we noted, the accusation against Kristol was the equivalent of saying that any two entities that use the same bank for their checking account are funding each other.
It was utter nonsense. It was also the kind of thing the world’s richest man who is in control of the government (including USAID) could have easily found out the truth about. But instead, he’s retweeting an anon account on ExTwitter whose conspiracy theory was basically red yarn on a corkboard.
Still, that kicked off a trend where the edgelord dipshits are now accusing basically anyone pointing out that USAID does a ton of important work around the world of being recipients of USAID funds. Multiple commenters here insisted that Techdirt must receive USAID funds, which is laughable. We have never received anything from USAID. But just the fact we have to say that shows how stupid this debate has become.
Reporters are rushing to point out that what these basement-dwellers are tweeting (and what Elon is boosting) has basically no basis in reality.
Most of Musk’s more than 160 posts about USAID have been responses to a handful of small but influential verified accounts, many of them using pseudonyms. The most popular — including posts from Wall Street Apes, Kanekoa the Great, Chief Nerd and Autism Capital — have been viewed hundreds of millions of times, amplified by Musk and his 216 million followers, according to X metrics. As the theories spread, they are repackaged, and in many cases added upon, to further the claims.
A review of the accounts’ profiles reveals how a lengthy crusade to paint USAID as a malevolent force built up in recent years in relatively fringe internet circles, only to be suddenly elevated and acted upon by Musk. The pattern is similar to one that played out with the so-called Twitter Files in 2022, when selectively framed narratives and out-of-context internal documents were weaponized to fuel allegations of a grand government censorship conspiracy. And it is one likely to continue under Trump and Musk, who have histories of trafficking in falsehoods.
But here’s where the story takes an especially rich turn. While Musk and his followers were busy constructing elaborate conspiracy theories about USAID funding, they somehow missed (or deliberately ignored) a rather obvious USAID connection: Elon Musk himself. Oddly, none of his usually-vocal fan accounts have mentioned this particular detail:
Before Musk led the charge to terminate USAID, his companies worked with and took funding from it. Tesla holds a stake in a company called Zola, which is funded in part by USAID to bring renewable energy to agricultural communities in sub-Saharan Africa. And Musk’s aerospace and defense contractor, SpaceX, partnered with USAID to bring its Starlink satellite internet service to Ukraine in 2022 after Russia’s invasion destroyed telecommunications infrastructure.
While some might claim that’s a reason to trust his claims about USAID, there are two problems with that. First of all, if you can accept that he (who has received money from USAID) can call out what he claims are problems, then why do you immediately insist that anyone else who might receive those funds is clearly compromised?
But, more importantly, there’s an even more revealing detail here: USAID has been investigating Starlink for improper behavior following the Ukraine debacle. And suddenly the timing of Musk’s crusade against USAID takes on a whole new meaning. Nothing says “let’s destroy an agency” quite like finding out they’re investigating your company:
While Musk and his businesses were lauded initially for bringing Wi-Fi service to Ukraine, controversy erupted after SpaceX withheld Starlink access from Ukraine’s military, effectively thwarting its drone attack on Russia’s Black Sea Fleet in 2022, which Musk said he did to avoid being complicit in a “major act of war.” Russian troops also reportedly obtained and began using Starlink against Ukraine within its borders. Musk denied Starlink terminals were sold to Russia. Last year, Democrats on the House Oversight Committee initiated a probe, and USAID’s inspector general was investigating Starlink’s use in Ukraine as part of its own accountability checks.
You can almost always set your watch to the idea that Elon Musk will bend over backwards to hide from any form of accountability. And what better way to discredit an investigation than by convincing millions of followers that the investigating agency is part of some vast conspiracy?
So long as he can continue to push Russian propaganda, I guess:
On Wednesday, Musk shared a faked video claiming USAID had sponsored celebrity visits to Ukraine. Darren Linvill, a co-director of Clemson University’s Media Forensics Hub, told NBC News the video was manufactured Russian propaganda.
The pattern here is impossible to miss: Take money from USAID, sabotage their Ukraine efforts, face investigation, launch an attack on the agency’s credibility, use your newfound illegitimate government power to shut it down, and cap it off by amplifying Russian disinformation about USAID.
The Russians must be laughing hysterically at how this is playing out.
It would be almost comical if it weren’t for the fact that the world’s richest man is successfully convincing millions of people to help him destroy the US government.