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| - SUMMARY
This is AI generated summarization, which may have errors. For context, always refer to the full article.
Claim: Tech billionaire Elon Musk has officially bought the media network Fox News.
Rating: FALSE
Why we fact-checked this: The YouTube video posted by “Wealth Up,” a channel with over 96,700 followers, has already gained 372,396 views, 11,000 likes, and 1,840 comments as of this writing.
In the 34-minute video, the narrator claimed that Musk acquired the news media company Fox for $25 billion. Fox Corporation and Musk allegedly confirmed this in a press release and tweet.
The video also mentioned petition campaigns circulating in the US from those who support and object to the acquisition. It further claimed that Fox News’ social media engagement surged by 300% following the reported deal.
The facts: Neither Musk nor Fox News released any announcement about the supposed acquisition on their official social media accounts. None of Musk’s recent tweets from November 1 to 6, the period leading up to the video’s release, talked about the alleged deal. Fox Corporation has also not issued any official press release confirming the rumor.
There were also no reports regarding petitions supporting Musk’s alleged acquisition of Fox, or any reports confirming the spike in Fox’s social media engagement.
Following Donald Trump’s victory in the 2024 US presidential race, social media platforms, specifically X (formerly Twitter), were flooded with tweets about the supposed deal. Rappler previously debunked a similar claim of Musk allegedly acquiring the automobile manufacturer Ford.
Jokes about buying companies: Musk has a history of joking about buying companies like Coca-Cola and even the popular English soccer team Manchester United.
Similar tweets have circulated claiming Musk expressed his intention to buy media outlets. One such post has amassed 4.6 million views on X and over 17,000 retweets. This was, however, posted by a parody account with over 1.5 million followers on the platform.
The most recent tweet from this parody account that references Fox News dates back to November 1, 2024: “I’m going to buy CNN, Fox News, and every legacy media outlet then change their logos to 🤡🤡🤡🤡…Thoughts?”
This was not reposted or confirmed by Musk himself in his official account.
Hypothetical scenarios: The video merely outlined hypothetical scenarios if Musk acquired the news outlet. These scenarios included the potential use of artificial intelligence to replace human reporters and hosts, an increase in tech-focused news programs, and a shift toward politically driven reporting that would support the Trump administration.
Musk, regarded as one of the world’s wealthiest individuals, is an avid supporter of Trump and a donor to his presidential campaign. The US president-elect recently appointed Musk to co-lead a newly created Department of Government Efficiency under his administration. – Jerry Yubal Jr./Rappler.com
Jerry Yubal Jr. is a graduate of Aries Rufo Journalism fellow of Rappler for 2023-2024. This fact check was reviewed by a member of Rappler’s research team and a senior editor. Learn more about Rappler’s fact-checking mentorship program here.
Keep us aware of suspicious Facebook pages, groups, accounts, websites, articles, or photos in your network by contacting us at factcheck@rappler.com. You may also report dubious claims to the #FactsFirstPH tipline by messaging Rappler on Facebook or Newsbreak via Twitter direct message. You may also report through our Viber fact check chatbot. Let us battle disinformation one Fact Check at a time.
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