The New York Times edited their story on Elon Musk’s childhood in South Africa after it received a backlash over perceived misinformation.
In recent weeks, Democrats and the Left have been in an uproar over Elon Musk’s purchase of Twitter, claiming he will allow the spread of disinformation, false facts, and fake news on the social media platform. And on May 5th, the New York Times published a story that not only repeated those claims, but also distorted the facts surrounding his childhood to suggest Musk is a racist.
The article also suggests that in his youth Elon “did not suffer the effects of misinformation.” and therefore doesn’t understand how harmful disinformation can be. How ironic that he is now being subjected to misinformation about his own life in an effort to destroy his reputation.
If you read the entire article, you would learn:
- Black classmates of Elon recalled he spent time with black friends.
- The headmaster of his high school and some students at the high school participated in anti-apartheid gatherings and freedom struggle activities.
- Nyadzani Ranwashe, a Black classmate of Elon, claimed that “one time at lunch a white student used an anti-Black slur. Musk chided the student, then got bullied for doing so.”
- Elon’s father was an ANTI-APARTHEID politician, elected to the Pretoria City Council in 1972.
- Elon and his family left South Africa when he was 17, moving to Canada so he wouldn’t have to serve in the apartheid military.
However, if you only skimmed through the article, you may have read:
- White kids were sheltered from the harsh reality of (apartheid) in South Africa.
- Elon and none of his classmates “experienced the beatings and gunshots of state security forces like the Black children who were fighting for basic rights in township schools”.
- Classmates at two high schools he attended described him as a loner with no close friends.
- Elon grew up in an elite, segregated white community, detached from the atrocities that white political leaders inflicted on the Black majority.
- Errol Musk (Elon’s father), worked as an engineer,
- Elon left South Africa shortly after graduation at 17 to go to college in Canada.
The original headline of the article read:
“In Musk’s past, a South Africa rife with misinformation and white privilege. Elon Musk grew up in elite, nearly all white enclaves littered with anti-black government propaganda and sheltered from the atrocities of apartheid.”
However, after a backlash from angry readers, the headline was changed to read:
“Elon Musk Left a South Africa That Was Rife With Misinformation and White Privilege. The apartheid era created all-white enclaves littered with anti-Black government propaganda and sheltered from the atrocities of apartheid.”
It takes a special type of people to intentionally spread misinformation about people they disagree with, while at the same time claiming to be protecting people from misinformation.