Elon Musk blasts media by tweeting article linked to NXIVM

Tesla CEO Elon Musk has deleted a tweet which recommended an article critical of the media that was written by a web site linked to NXIVM, the alleged ‘sex cult.’

In recent days, the billionaire entrepreneur has been active on Twitter denouncing the press for what he feels is unfair coverage of his electric car company.

Musk has suggested the creation of a ‘site where the public can rate the core truth of any article & track the credibility score over time of each journalist, editor, & publication,’ he tweeted last week.

He then added that he was considering naming the new site ‘Pravda’ – which was the name of the official propaganda organ of the defunct Soviet Union.

Tesla CEO Elon Musk has deleted a tweet which recommended an article critical of the media that was written by a web site linked to NXIVM, the alleged ‘sex cult’

To back up his claim that the press is not reliable, Musk retweeted a link to an article written by The Knife, a web site that is a rebranded version of The Knife of Aristotle

To back up his claim that the press is not reliable, Musk retweeted a link to an article written by The Knife, a web site that is a rebranded version of The Knife of Aristotle

To back up his claim that the press is not reliable, Musk retweeted a link to an article written by The Knife, a web site that is a rebranded version of The Knife of Aristotle, according to Slate.

The Knife of Aristotle is affiliated with NXIVM, a self-help organization whose founder, Keith Raniere, was arrested in March and charged with crimes that include forcing followers to have sex with him.

One of his followers was Allison Mack, the actress who is alleged to have helped steer women to Raniere.

The Knife article which Musk linked to is an ‘analysis of how news outlets distort information.’

The Knife of Aristotle is affiliated with NXIVM, whose founder, Keith Raniere (above), was arrested in March and charged with crimes that include forcing followers to have sex with him

One of his followers was actress Allison Mack (above), who allegedly helped steer women to Raniere

The Knife of Aristotle is affiliated with NXIVM, whose founder, Keith Raniere (left), was arrested in March and charged with crimes that include forcing followers to have sex with him. One of his followers was actress Allison Mack (right), who allegedly helped steer women to Raniere

It assigned ‘objectivity ratings’ to articles from various news sites who have covered Musk’s recent campaign against the press.

The Knife gauges the accuracy and objectivity of articles based on what it perceives as ‘spin’ or ‘slant.’

It then calculates these markers in order to come up with a final ‘objectivity rating.’

When Musk was informed on Twitter that the article was written by a site affiliated with NXIVM, he deleted the tweet.

Yet, Musk still defended the article in a subsequent tweet, saying that ‘it had better critical analysis than most non-cult media.’ 

Musk appears serious with his intent to monitor the press. 

He hasn’t let up on his promise to create ‘Pravda’, a website aimed at rating the credibility of specific journalists and media outlets.

The SpaceX and Tesla boss tweeted on Friday that he registered the domain name ‘Pravduh.com’, a play on words of the state-run Russian news agency, Pravda.

‘Game on…,’ Musk added, continuing a Twitter tirade that has gone on since Wednesday.

Musk took ‘big media companies’ to task in a series of tweets earlier this week, particularly over the headlines surrounding his electric car company, Tesla.

Musk appears serious with his intent to monitor the press. He hasn't let up on his promise to create 'Pravda', a website aimed at rating the credibility of specific journalists and media outlets

Musk appears serious with his intent to monitor the press. He hasn’t let up on his promise to create ‘Pravda’, a website aimed at rating the credibility of specific journalists and media outlets

The SpaceX and Tesla boss tweeted on Friday that he registered the domain name 'Pravduh.com', a play on words of the state-run Russian news agency, Pravda

The SpaceX and Tesla boss tweeted on Friday that he registered the domain name ‘Pravduh.com’, a play on words of the state-run Russian news agency, Pravda

He said the public doesn’t respect the media anymore because of their ‘holier-than-though hypocrisy’ and because they ‘claim to the truth, but publish only enough to sugarcoat the lie’.

After a reporter from the Verge retorted by calling him a ‘media-bating Trump figure,’ Musk sharply replied by saying President Donald Trump was elected because no one believes the media anymore.

He rounded out the spectacle by saying that he plans to create a site called ‘Pravda’, a reference to the state-run Russian news agency, where people can rate journalists.

Now, it appears Musk is doubling down on his promise to create the site.

After discovering that Pravda.com was already a domain name purchased in Ukraine, he went ahead and registered Pravduh.com.

Musk was asked whether the site, which would rate the ‘core truth of any article and track the credibility score over time of each journalist, editor and publication’, was just a joke.

The site itself seems to be serious, but Musk acknowledged that the ‘Pravda’ name is satire.

‘It is named after the most pernicious propaganda machine in history specifically to highlight what we want to avoid,’ Musk explained in a tweet.

‘It’s called satire…,’ he added.

Still, that didn’t seem to satisfy some members of the media, who said the Pravda website would be ‘an attack’ on the profession.

Musk defended his move by saying the website is necessary to protect truthfulness in the media

Musk defended his move by saying the website is necessary to protect truthfulness in the media

And again, Musk defended his move by saying the website is necessary to protect truthfulness in the media.

In a separate tweet on Wednesday, Musk agreed with it being akin to a ‘Yelp for journalists’.

‘If you’re in media and don’t want Pravda to exist, write an article telling your readers to vote against it,’ he added.

Coincidentally, the SpaceX and Tesla boss incorporated a business by the name of Pravda Corp. in California last October, reporter Mark Harris pointed out in a tweet.

Musk seemingly acknowledged this by replying to the tweet with an emoji.

The rant, which totaled 19 tweets, was ignited by a report from electric vehicle-focused news website Electrek, which cited a recent report from Robert W. Baird analysts.

Baird analysts noted that ‘increasingly immaterial’ headlines had been flooding the news media, but that Tesla may still be able to recover from the ‘negative coverage/sentiment’.

Tesla has been hit with a number of hurdles in the past few months, as it has struggled to meet production goals for the Model 3 and continues to burn through cash.

Additionally, concerns have continued to grow around the safety of Tesla cars, as well as the working conditions at the firm’s Fremont, California-based factory.  

Just this week, Consumer Reports decided not to recommend the Model 3 sedan after it determined that it had the worst braking distances ‘of any contemporary car’.

And Musk has repeatedly complained on Twitter that media organizations dedicate more attention to covering crashes related to Tesla’s self-driving cars than it does to crashes from regular automobiles.

Wednesday’s tirade also isn’t the first time Musk has voiced an interest in creating some kind of media-related entity of his own.

In the recent past, the SpaceX boss poached several writers and editors from satirical news publication The Onion to work on a secret project he’s funding,according to The Daily Beast.

Possibly giving credence to the report, Musk sent out a pair of cryptic tweets early Wednesday, beginning with one that simply said ‘Thud!’   



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