Elon Musk caused a flurry on social media after the tech CEO posted a meme mocking CNN’s concerns about free speech on Twitter.
Musk posted a picture of CNN’s Don Lemon on Monday, alongside a satirical chyron that read “Elon Musk could threaten free speech on Twitter by allowing people to speak freely.”
Some Twitter users were confused about whether the meme was from an actual CNN broadcast. The image is originally from Geniuses Times, a satirical website that describes itself as “the most reliable source of fake news in the planet.”
Nevertheless, Musk’s post prompted a wide range of responses, from conservative praise to liberal meltdowns.
Ronald Brownstein, a senior editor at The Atlantic, claimed that Musk was simply repackaging hate speech as free speech to empower extremism on the far right.
“Simple equation: Musk repackages hate speech racism anti-semitism homophobia and far-right intimidation as ‘free speech’ & any effort to hold him accountable for injecting it into US society as the ‘woke mob.’ On both ends, same goal: amplifying & empowering far-right extremists,” he tweeted.
Meanwhile, The Jewish Voice, a news and opinion site dedicated to promoting classical Judaism, asserted that Don Lemon’s continued presence on CNN would ensure most Americans would click off the channel.
As long as @donlemon still work for @cnn majority of Americans going to stay away from it . @cnni @CNNnewsroom @CNNTonight https://t.co/SHlvnIJHVK
— The Jewish Voice (@JewishVoice) November 28, 2022
“How ridiculous can it get?” author James Arthur Ray chimed in.
“I’ve always said what I want and always will speak from heart,” actor and comedian Tommy Chong tweeted.
Morten Øverbye, a tech entrepreneur and former managing editor of CNN Norway, slammed Musk for appearing to float his own rule to label parody.
“Just 17 days ago, Musk made up a new rule saying accounts engaged in parody must include ‘parody’ in their name,” he said.
Musk said on November 10 that accounts engaged in parody must include the word “parody” in their actual name, not just their bio.
Going forward, accounts engaged in parody must include “parody” in their name, not just in bio
— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) November 11, 2022
Musk’s criticism of CNN and Lemon comes days after the network anchor attempted to fact-check the Twitter owner, claiming that context was needed after Musk posted a tweet calling the “Hands up, don’t shoot” myth “made up.”
The phrase originally stemmed from Michael Brown’s death in Ferguson, Missouri in 2014, when he was shot and killed by Officer Darren Wilson. Soon after, it became a rallying cry for racial justice protests, but the Obama administration’s Department of Justice concluded that Brown did not raise his arms to surrender before his death.
Lemon admitted that the DOJ report “cast doubt” on the narrative about Brown’s death, but also noted that “some said” Brown did attempt to surrender.
Musk has previously spoken out against the liberal media network.
Musk sat down last December with The Babylon Bee, a satirical website that recently had its Twitter account reinstated. During a discussion about “pointless” companies that “shouldn’t exist,” a co-host joked they did not feel qualified to interview Musk.
“You can be on CNN right now,” co-host Kyle Mann quipped.
“I’m not perverted enough, I guess,” Musk responded, likely referencing a satirical Bee headline, as well as recent allegations of sexual misconduct at CNN.