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☆ Musk and Ramaswamy float ending remote work for federal employees and ‘large-scale firings’
▼ + stars: | 2024-11-20 | by ( David Ingram | David Ingram Is A Tech Reporter For Nbc News. | ) www.nbcnews.com time to read: +4 min

Incoming Trump administration advisers Elon Musk and Vivek Ramaswamy on Wednesday floated ending remote work for federal workers, calling the practice a “privilege” left over from the pandemic. “Requiring federal employees to come to the office five days a week would result in a wave of voluntary terminations that we welcome: If federal employees don’t want to show up, American taxpayers shouldn’t pay them for the Covid-era privilege of staying home,” the two men wrote. The future of remote work for office-based employees is hotly debated. Some unionized federal workers have criticized Musk and Ramaswamy, saying they don’t know what they’re doing. Erwin said the two tech figures “make absurd claims about government waste and bash dedicated federal employees.” His union says it represents 110,000 federal employees.

Persons: Elon Musk, Vivek Ramaswamy, ”, Biden, Ramaswamy, Donald Trump, Musk, Randy Erwin, Erwin Organizations: Trump, Street, Management, of Government, SpaceX, CNBC, Tesla, National Federation of Federal Employees Locations: Washington

☆ Trump watches Musk’s SpaceX Starship launch in Texas
▼ + stars: | 2024-11-19 | by ( David Ingram | David Ingram Is A Tech Reporter For Nbc News. | ) www.nbcnews.com time to read: 1 min

President-elect Donald Trump said Tuesday he was traveling to Texas to personally witness the latest launch for SpaceX’s Starship megarocket, a key part of billionaire Elon Musk’s plans to populate Mars. Trump, who has endorsed a Mars mission, announced his plans in a post on X. “I’m heading to the Great State of Texas to watch the launch of the largest object ever to be elevated, not only to Space, but simply by lifting off the ground. Good luck to @ElonMusk and the Great Patriots involved in this incredible project!” he said. Musk, the CEO of SpaceX and Tesla, said on X he was honored to have Trump at the event.

Persons: Donald Trump, Elon Musk’s, Trump, Musk Organizations: Great Patriots, SpaceX, Tesla, Trump Locations: Texas, Great State of Texas

☆ Elon Musk's new 'department' seeks 'super high-IQ' staff for unpaid jobs
▼ + stars: | 2024-11-14 | by ( David Ingram | David Ingram Is A Tech Reporter For Nbc News. | ) www.nbcnews.com time to read: +2 min

“We need super high-IQ small-government revolutionaries willing to work 80+ hours per week on unglamorous cost-cutting,” the so-called Department of Government Efficiency said in a post on X. Musk and Ramaswamy have called for sweeping changes such as mass layoffs and deep cuts to federal programs. On Wednesday, Musk called for cutting grant money to nonprofit groups. Thousands of people have been replying to the DOGE account on X, including with suggested spending cuts. The DOGE account said Thursday that it was grateful to people for expressing interest in helping and that now it needs full-time staff.

Persons: Elon Musk, Vivek Ramaswamy’s, ”, Vivek, Musk, Donald Trump, Ramaswamy, Tesla, ” Ramaswamy, Trump, “, It’s Organizations: Government Efficiency, Elon, SpaceX, Trump, Republican Locations: America, ‘

“Any disputes Musk has with his critics should play out in the court of public opinion, not a court of law,” Terr said. Musk and representatives at X did not respond to requests for comment on his calls for prosecution. Musk and X have sometimes found allies among members of Congress or state attorneys general who have launched investigations. “The First Amendment obviously protects both Musk and his critics in making public pronouncements about each other,” he said in an email. The feud between Musk and the Center for Countering Digital Hate has continued.

Persons: Elon Musk, Musk, Victoria Nuland, ”, ” Musk, Donald Trump, Nadine Strossen, Trump, Strossen, they’re, ” Aaron Terr, ” Terr, there’s, Michael Gerhardt, Chapel Hill, —, X, Charles Breyer, Imran Ahmed, “ Elon Musk, “, ” Ahmed, Ahmed, Jim Jordan, Travis Brown, Brown, Aaron Greenspan, PlainSite, Greenspan, Jack Sweeney, Sweeney, Taylor Swift, he’s, “ Trump Organizations: State Department, Center, American Civil Liberties Union, New York Law School, “, SpaceX, Justice Department, Foundation, Rights, Hate, Media, NBC News, NBC, Media Matters, University of North, Chapel, Department, The Justice, District, ACLU, Electronic Frontier Foundation, Columbia University, Constitution, Racket, Twitter, Federal Government, World Federation, Internet, Wired, Washington Post Locations: University of North Carolina, U.S, Ohio, Texas, San Francisco

☆ 'SNL' cast member Chloe Fineman says Elon Musk made her cry when he hosted the show
▼ + stars: | 2024-11-12 | by ( David Ingram | David Ingram Is A Tech Reporter For Nbc News. | ) www.nbcnews.com time to read: +2 min

Saturday Night Live” cast member Chloe Fineman appeared to solve a mystery Monday about which recent “SNL” host made someone cry: She said that the host was tech billionaire Elon Musk and that she was the one in tears. In August, fellow cast member Bowen Yang said on a podcast that a male “SNL” host made multiple cast members cry because the host hated their ideas for sketches. “I’m gonna come out and say, at long last, that I’m the cast member that he made cry and he’s the host that made someone cry,” she said in the video. Musk didn’t immediately respond to a request for comment late Monday about Fineman’s video. Fineman didn’t say which sketch it was, but she said it made it onto the show and turned out well.

Persons: Chloe Fineman, Elon Musk, Bowen Yang, Yang didn’t, John Nacion, Fineman, I’m, ”, Wario, ” Fineman, “, Musk wasn’t, Musk, Donald Trump, Kamala Harris, Dana Carvey’s, ” Musk, “ You’re Organizations: SNL, Getty, SpaceX, NBC, “ SNL Locations: New York City

☆ Big Tech CEOs send well wishes to Trump
▼ + stars: | 2024-11-06 | by ( David Ingram | David Ingram Is A Tech Reporter For Nbc News. | ) www.nbcnews.com time to read: +6 min

Trump’s win came about with the help of Musk and his wealthy tech friends including investors Peter Thiel and David Sacks. They boosted Trump with financial contributions, fundraising help and public endorsements on subjects such as the economy and deregulation. Few other major tech executives publicly endorsed in the presidential race, though some of them made vague comments praising one or the other candidate. Trump has a complicated history with many tech CEOs. In their social media posts, several tech CEOs used the word “decisive” to describe Trump’s victory and they employed popular buzzwords like “innovation” in an apparent attempt to identify common ground.

Persons: Donald Trump, Elon Musk, Mark Zuckerberg, Tim Cook, Sundar Pichai, Satya Nadella, Sam Altman, Jeff Bezos, Andy Jassy, Trump, ” Zuckerberg, ” Trump, Zuckerberg, —, Musk, Trump’s, Peter Thiel, David Sacks, Bezos, Reid Hoffman, — wouldn’t, ”, bitcoin, Musk’s, Parler, Jeff, Mike Davis, Ivan Raiklin, Cook Organizations: Tech, Trump, titans, Meta, Apple, Microsoft, Amazon, The Washington, Democratic, Trump’s, Pentagon, The Washington Post, III, Trump Tower, Google Locations: Silicon Valley, Butler , Pennsylvania, Tesla, Coinbase, County, State

Tech billionaire Elon Musk and his business empire stand to reap massive rewards if former President Donald Trump returns to the White House. Elon Musk joins former US President Donald Trump during a campaign event in Butler, Pa., on Oct. 5, 2024. “I love Elon Musk,” Trump said at a rally in July. It’s not clear how Musk and Trump would navigate the ethical questions around a possible government role for the tech billionaire. “He would be in much less trouble in a Trump administration because Trump shares his hostility to regulation and regulators,” Richard Pierce, a law professor at George Washington University specializing in government regulation, told NBC News in an interview earlier this year.

Persons: Elon Musk, Donald Trump, Musk, Trump, Vladimir Putin, SpaceX, ” Musk, Brian Hughes, ”, ” Hughes, Justin Merriman, ” Trump, “, walling, Kamala Harris, Harris, Biden, Larry Krasner, ” Richard Pierce, John Raoux, Angela Aneiros, ” Aneiros, Tesla, There’s, SpaceX countersued, • Tesla, ” SpaceX, Starlink, Justice Department —, Tucker Carlson, Carlson, he’s, SpaceX’s, Kamala Organizations: Tech, Trump, Musk’s, SpaceX, China —, U.S, Wall Street, NBC News, Boeing, Fox News, Bloomberg, Getty Images Trump, D.C, Trump Organization, Budget, America PAC, Philadelphia, George Washington University, Tesla, Co, Kennedy Space Center, Gonzaga University, university’s Center of Law, & Commerce, Justice Department, National, Traffic Safety Administration, Securities and Exchange Commission, Street, Justice, Employment, Commission, National Labor Relations Board, SEC, Twitter, Federal Communications Commission, Federal Aviation Administration, FAA, Safety, Health Administration, NLRB, Reuters, Defense Department, NASA, International, White, National Space Council Locations: China, United States, Taiwan, Ukraine, Washington, Trump’s, Pennsylvania, Butler, Pa, Palm Beach , Florida, Texas, California, Cape Canaveral, Fla, Los Angeles, Austin, Mars

☆ Elon Musk’s lawyer says $1M giveaway winners not randomly chosen, which could raise legal issues
▼ + stars: | 2024-11-04 | by ( David Ingram | David Ingram Is A Tech Reporter For Nbc News. | ) www.nbcnews.com time to read: +8 min

Legal experts told NBC News that the disclosure could have legal fallout for Musk across multiple jurisdictions under laws designed to protect consumers from deceptive practices. Chris Gober, a lawyer for America PAC, made the disclosure at a hearing about the giveaways. Elon Musk awarded Kristine Fishell a $1 million check at a town hall in Pittsburgh on Oct. 20. Typically under state law, “this is actually bread and butter stuff for them,” he said in a direct message. The Justice Department, which had warned Musk’s super PAC that its offer may run afoul of federal election law, did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

Persons: Elon Musk, Musk, ” Christopher Peterson, ”, Chris Gober, “ We’re, ” Musk, Kristine Fishell, Michael Swensen, Donald Trump, Trump, Larry Krasner, John Summers, Krasner, Gober, Rebecca Tushnet, “, Tushnet, George Conway, David Vladeck, ” Lorrin Freeman, ” Jeff Sovern Organizations: NBC News, University of Utah, Musk’s America PAC, America PAC, Pennsylvania, Harvard Law School, Republican, Federal Trade Commission, FTC, Georgetown University, AGs, University of Maryland, The Justice Department, Musk’s Locations: Philadelphia, Arizona, Georgia, Michigan, Nevada , North Carolina , Pennsylvania, Wisconsin, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, Wake County, North, North Carolina, Baltimore

Elon Musk’s posts on his social media platform X get far more attention when they cast doubt on the integrity of the electoral process, an NBC News analysis has found. The difference in reach was vast: 5.2 times more likes, 4.2 times more comments and 9.1 times more reposts, when comparing the median election-doubting post to the median election post that didn’t cast doubt on the process. In addition to owning X, Musk is its biggest account, with more than 202 million followers, according to the app’s tally of his following. X has developed a clear tilt in favor of far-right users and posts since Musk bought it two years ago, according to researchers. Musk told an editor at The Atlantic in July that he would “of course” accept the results of the presidential election, according to the magazine.

Persons: Elon Musk’s, Musk’s, —, It’s, Donald Trump, Kamala Harris, he’s, Musk, “ Organizations: NBC, SpaceX, Trump Locations: United States, U.S

The handful of Americans who have won $1 million checks from tech billionaire Elon Musk’s super PAC have a few things in common. He said he didn’t know the process the super PAC used to pick his name and didn’t ask. He said he believes Democrats are not ideologically predisposed to sign Musk’s petition in support of the First and Second Amendments. NBC News asked the super PAC to share the process Oct. 22 and did not receive a response. All 14 winners have either recorded videos for Musk’s super PAC, been photographed for the super PAC or both.

Persons: Elon, giveaway’s, Musk’s, Donald Trump, Musk, ” Musk, ”, Kamala Harris, “, Larry Krasner, Krasner, who’s, Ron Conwell, Conwell, you’re, he’s, Jared Polis, Bill Maher’s, ” Polis, “ Elon Organizations: Elon Musk’s, Republican, Trump, Musk’s America PAC, Republicans, Plus, PAC, America PAC, “, NBC News, American PAC, Democrat, Republican Party, Musk’s, Federal, U.S, Constitution, ” Locations: Favor, Philadelphia, Michigan, Pennsylvania, ” Colorado, North Carolina, Arizona , Georgia, Nevada, Wisconsin

PHILADELPHIA — Elon Musk’s legal team filed court papers that delayed a potential ruling on a lawsuit over his super PAC's $1 million lottery-style giveaways. The federal court filing automatically blocked any immediate action in state court, where Judge Angelo Foglietta had already scheduled Thursday’s hearing. Summers said he planned to argue in federal court to have the case returned to state court. “We will proceed to federal court, and we will address the issues there and seek to have the matter remanded back to the state court,” he told reporters outside the state courtroom Thursday. “Let’s be serious.”“If anyone could land a rocket ship in Philadelphia, it’s Elon Musk,” Summers replied.

Persons: PHILADELPHIA — Elon, Larry Krasner, Musk, —, John Summers, Krasner, Matthew Haverstick, Angelo Foglietta, Foglietta, Jerry Pappert, Barack Obama, Summers, “, ”, ” Summers, DA Krasner, Elon Musk, ” Foglietta, Haverstick, He’s, it’s Elon Musk, David Ingram, Daniel Barnes Organizations: PHILADELPHIA, America PAC, District, . America PAC, Elon Jet, SpaceX, DA, U.S . Justice Department Locations: Philadelphia, U.S, Austin , Texas, Pennsylvania, San Francisco

☆ How Elon Musk turned X into a pro-Trump echo chamber
▼ + stars: | 2024-10-31 | by ( David Ingram | David Ingram Is A Tech Reporter For Nbc News. | ) www.nbcnews.com time to read: +7 min

And in recent months, Musk has become one of Trump’s biggest donors and most energetic supporters, turning X into an unofficial house organ for his campaign. On Tuesday, Musk promoted an X Community — a large group of users — called the Election Integrity Community, which was created by his super PAC, America PAC. Musk and X did not respond to requests for comment. Musk has personally boosted many of them, such as @libsoftiktok and the account of conspiracy theorist Laura Loomer, who was suspended from Twitter before Musk bought it. Musk is the CEO of Tesla and SpaceX, but X may be his highest-profile political asset.

Persons: Elon Musk, ” Musk, hasn’t, Donald Trump’s, Trump, Musk, Kamala Harris, —, ”, Giulio Corsi, Paul Pelosi, Nancy Pelosi, Weeks, Ron DeSantis, Robert F, Kennedy Jr, misgendering, it’s, newsbrokers, Laura Loomer, Mert Bayar, Corsi, ” Corsi Organizations: Elon, Twitter, NBC News, PAC, America PAC, U.S, University of Cambridge, Trump, Republican, Florida Gov, GOP, University of Washington, UW Center, SpaceX Locations: Pennsylvania, Haiti

☆ Elon Musk’s X is boosting election conspiracy theories with AI-powered trending topics
▼ + stars: | 2024-10-26 | by ( David Ingram | David Ingram Is A Tech Reporter For Nbc News. | ) www.nbcnews.com time to read: +7 min

On Monday, Grok uncritically repeated debunked allegations of wrongdoing related to the voting machine company Dominion Voting Systems. It created a “story for you” repeating unfounded allegations by X users that she used cocaine in the White House, and it created a “story for you” repeating allegations by X users that she attended parties hosted by Sean “Diddy” Combs, who’s facing federal sex-abuse charges. In recent weeks, dozens of X users have posted about “explore beta,” and the vast majority of the posts have been negative. Some X users who browse the app’s trending topics see only ranked lists of popular subjects, with no AI-generated text. It’s also not clear if X plans to expand the Grok summaries from a beta test to a standard feature.

Persons: Elon, Kamala Harris, Donald Trump, Musk, Grok, Grok uncritically, Grok’s, ”, Harris, Sean “ Diddy ” Combs, Combs, Misa Hylton, it’s, Joe Biden, Biden, It’s, X Organizations: NBC News, Voting Systems, Dominion, Fox News, Local, Democratic, Grok, SpaceX, Bloomberg, Trump, Trump voters, NBC, Dominion Voting Systems, Twitter, Associated Press, Reuters, soccer team Locations: Maricopa County , Arizona, Tarrant County , Texas, Pennsylvania

☆ Elon Musk defends $1 million giveaway after Justice Department warning
▼ + stars: | 2024-10-26 | by ( David Ingram | David Ingram Is A Tech Reporter For Nbc News. | ) www.nbcnews.com time to read: +3 min

Tech billionaire Elon Musk defended the legality of his super PAC’s $1 million daily giveaway to registered voters in swing states, days after the Justice Department sent a letter warning that the lottery-style contest might be unlawful. The PAC is also offering $100 to Pennsylvania registered voters who sign the petition. Musk’s daily drawing for $1 million is open to registered voters in Arizona, Georgia, Michigan, Nevada, North Carolina, Pennsylvania and Wisconsin. Musk took a harsher tone toward the Justice Department on two other subjects during the online town hall. He attacked the criminal prosecutions of Trump, saying they were for “political reasons,” and he criticized the Justice Department for intervening in a lawsuit in Virginia related to immigration and that state’s voter rolls.

Persons: Elon Musk, It’s, ”, Musk, Donald Trump, he’s, George Soros, “ Dennis ”, ” Musk, Trump Organizations: Tech, Justice Department, Musk’s America PAC, SpaceX, Bloomberg, Trump, Soros, NBC News, Musk’s Locations: United States, Pennsylvania, America, Arizona , Georgia, Michigan, Nevada , North Carolina , Pennsylvania, Wisconsin, Virginia

The Justice Department declined to comment, and the super PAC’s treasurer did not immediately reply to a voicemail message requesting comment. On Monday, a group of ex-prosecutors and other former government officials sent a letter to the Justice Department requesting an investigation. Legal experts have told NBC News that they believe Musk’s contest falls into a legal gray area and could violate election law, but not necessarily. So far, several of the winners have appeared in short videos for America PAC talking about their support for former President Donald Trump. Musk, who has endorsed Trump’s campaign, launched America PAC in an effort to help elect him.

Persons: Elon, ”, Matthew Sanderson, Musk, “, Donald Trump, Trump’s, Trump Organizations: Elon Musk’s, PAC, America PAC, CNN, Justice Department, NBC News, NBC, SpaceX, Bloomberg Locations: Arizona , Georgia, Michigan, Nevada , North Carolina , Pennsylvania, Wisconsin, Pennsylvania, Harrisburg , Pennsylvania

☆ Gun YouTube creators are leaving the platform as the company cracks down on firearm videos
▼ + stars: | 2024-10-20 | by ( David Ingram | David Ingram Is A Tech Reporter For Nbc News. | ) www.nbcnews.com time to read: +11 min

At least four large YouTube channels devoted to firearms have announced they’re quitting the platform and moving to rival services with looser rules. YouTube, which is owned by Google, has for years imposed rules on gun videos. YouTube says gun videos are only one part of its enormous app. Responsible firearms content is just one part of this vibrant mix of communities,” the company said in a statement. A successful YouTube gun channel can make hundreds of thousands of dollars a year in ad revenue and sponsorships, Bloomberg News reported this year.

Persons: they’re, they’ve, ” Jon Patton, ” Patton, it’s, Attorney Alvin Bragg, Donald Trump, Matt Carriker, Carriker, YouTube’s, ”, “, hasn’t, Alexander Reville, podcasters, “ You’ve, we’re, Guns.com, Joel Persinger, Chris Mijic, Persinger, “ GunTubers, ” Justin Wagner, Nick Fuentes, John Kinman, Greg, Greg Kinman, YouTube ”, we’ve Organizations: YouTube, Google, Bloomberg News, Gun Safety, Attorney, Trump, Firearms, NBC News, Safety Locations: Manhattan, California, Pennsylvania

☆ Elon Musk says all voting should be 'in person' while his super PAC promotes voting by mail
▼ + stars: | 2024-10-19 | by ( David Ingram | David Ingram Is A Tech Reporter For Nbc News. | ) www.nbcnews.com time to read: +5 min

Tech billionaire Elon Musk said Friday that all voting should be “in person,” contradicting his own history of voting by mail and the efforts of his pro-Trump super PAC to get others to vote by mail, too. His super PAC, America PAC, is also promoting mail-in and absentee ballots this year. In mailers and on a website that links to absentee ballot request forms, the super PAC calls absentee voting a secure way for people to support Trump in the Nov. 5 election. Musk has given the super PAC nearly $75 million. But Musk’s opposition to mail-in and absentee voting is longstanding, and he has repeatedly declined to resolve his stated opposition with his own practice.

Persons: Elon Musk, Musk, Donald Trump, ” Musk, Musk’s, ”, X, Scott Presler Organizations: Tech, Trump, PAC, Voting, Dominion, SpaceX, NBC News, America PAC, U.S, Capitol, FBI Locations: Oaks , Pennsylvania, United States, California, Georgia, American, Pennsylvania, Harrisburg, ”, Iran

☆ Elon Musk has given nearly $75 million to his pro-Trump super PAC
▼ + stars: | 2024-10-16 | by ( David Ingram | David Ingram Is A Tech Reporter For Nbc News. | ) www.nbcnews.com time to read: +2 min

Elon Musk has given nearly $75 million to America PAC, the super PAC he created to support former President Donald Trump, according to a campaign finance filing from the group late Tuesday. The super PAC is focused on voter turnout efforts in potential swing states such as Pennsylvania, where Musk recently appeared onstage with Trump. Musk gave $14.95 million to the super PAC in July, $30 million in August and $30 million in September, according to the filing. The filing says he was the super PAC’s only donor during that period, although in June the super PAC disclosed several donations from associates of Musk, including five donations for $1 million apiece. Republican megadonor Miriam Adelson gave $95 million in the third quarter to the super PAC she is using to back Trump.

Persons: Elon Musk, Donald Trump, Musk, Trump, podcaster Jordan Peterson, Republican megadonor Miriam Adelson Organizations: America PAC, PAC, Federal, Commission, Trump, SpaceX, Bloomberg, California Republican Party, National Republican Congressional Committee, Republican Locations: Pennsylvania, Michigan

☆ Are taxis safer with no driver? These women think so.
▼ + stars: | 2024-10-08 | by ( David Ingram | David Ingram Is A Tech Reporter For Nbc News. | ) www.nbcnews.com time to read: +11 min

Autonomous taxis are winning over women in cities like San Francisco by offering an answer to a long-standing concern about ride-hailing apps: misbehavior by human drivers, especially men. Now, those driver safety concerns are helping to fuel the popularity of autonomous taxis — especially for women traveling alone or at night. About three-quarters of Lyft and Uber drivers are men, according to industry and academic surveys. Lyft said in a statement to NBC News that it continues to try to improve safety, including with driver background checks, driver ratings, driver education and an emergency phone line for passengers. In 2023, Lyft started a feature, Women+ Connect, that allows women or nonbinary drivers to opt in to prefer riders who are women or nonbinary, and vice versa.

Persons: they’ve, Veronica Pastore, it’s, “ I’ve, ’ ”, Pastore, “ It’s, ”, they’d, they’re, Abby Vigil, she’s, Robotaxis, driverless, “, Jason Munderloh, ” Waymo, Lyft, Uber, Waymo, ” Uber, Dara Khosrowshahi, Diana Taurasi, Megan Neese, Neese, Amazon’s, Elon Musk, Jayka Noelle, Noelle, TikTok, DaBabyBoomers, Cheryl Baxter, Beth Bowles Organizations: San Francisco, Gig Workers, Rider, NBC News, CNBC, Phoenix Mercury, Google, Motors ’, Tesla Locations: San Francisco, Lyft, San, ”, —, U.S, Atlanta, Austin , Texas, Las Vegas, Phoenix, Los Angeles, Austin, Scottsdale , Arizona

☆ Elon Musk’s popularity plummets to 6% among Democrats, poll finds
▼ + stars: | 2024-09-25 | by ( David Ingram | David Ingram Is A Tech Reporter For Nbc News. | ) www.nbcnews.com time to read: +3 min

Elon Musk’s support among Democrats has withered to a new low as he has embraced Republican politics, according to a national NBC News poll. Only 6% of Democrats in the poll, which was conducted Sept. 13-17, said they had positive feelings about Musk, while 79% said they had negative feelings. The numbers were flipped for Republicans, with 62% having positive feelings toward him and 14% negative feelings. Musk didn’t respond to a request for comment Tuesday. Overall public support for Musk is negative, with 34% holding positive views and 45% negative views, according to the poll.

Persons: Elon, Donald Trump, “, ”, Jeff Horwitt, Democratic pollster, Bill McInturff, ” Horwitt, Musk, Kamala Harris Organizations: Republican, NBC News, Hart Research Associates, Democratic, SpaceX, Bloomberg, NBC, Trump, Democrats

☆ TikTok removes Russian state media outlets RT and Sputnik, citing 'covert influence operations'
▼ + stars: | 2024-09-23 | by ( David Ingram | David Ingram Is A Tech Reporter For Nbc News. | ) www.nbcnews.com time to read: +2 min

TikTok said Monday it had removed accounts belonging to Russian state media outlets RT and Sputnik for engaging in what TikTok called “covert influence operations.”The social video app said in a statement on its website that it removed accounts associated with TV-Novosti and Rossiya Segodnya, the parent organizations of the RT television network and the Russian news agency Sputnik. The suspensions follow the Biden administration’s accusations this month that RT acts as an arm of Moscow’s spy agencies. Social media rivals Meta and YouTube have announced similar suspensions of Russian state media accounts, although other tech companies such as X have left up RT and Sputnik accounts. RT and Sputnik both published reports over the weekend saying that some of their accounts had been deleted without explanation. Secretary of State Antony Blinken said this month that he believed Russian outlets such as RT had moved beyond working as media outlets and had turned into covert intelligence operations.

Persons: TikTok, Rossiya Segodnya, ’, ” Sputnik, Antony Blinken, Margarita Simonyan, ” Organizations: Sputnik, Novosti, NBC News, Biden, Social, Meta, YouTube, RT, Federal, “, Reuters Locations: Russian, Russia, U.S, United States of America, Mexico

☆ Cards Against Humanity sues Elon Musk's SpaceX for allegedly trespassing on Texas land
▼ + stars: | 2024-09-20 | by ( David Ingram | David Ingram Is A Tech Reporter For Nbc News. | ) www.nbcnews.com time to read: +4 min

The maker of the party game Cards Against Humanity has sued Elon Musk’s SpaceX accusing it of trespassing on and damaging company-owned property in Texas. The dispute involves a plot of vacant land near Brownsville, Texas, far from the Cards Against Humanity corporate headquarters in Chicago. No wall was ever built on the property, where the company keeps a “No Trespassing” sign, according to the company. Cards Against Humanity said it bought the land after 150,000 people each paid $15 toward a crowdfunding effort. Cards Against Humanity complained to SpaceX about the alleged trespassing and damage, according to a website the game maker set up devoted to the lawsuit.

Persons: Elon, Donald Trump, CAH, “ Organizations: Humanity, SpaceX, crowdfunding, Tesla, Reuters, CNBC Locations: Texas, Brownsville , Texas, Chicago, U.S, Mexico, Starbase, Rio Grande, of Mexico

☆ How Elon Musk amplified content from a suspected Russian election interference plot
▼ + stars: | 2024-09-18 | by ( David Ingram | David Ingram Is A Tech Reporter For Nbc News. | ) www.nbcnews.com time to read: +9 min

Musk did not respond to an email Tuesday asking about the Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty report and about his sharing of Tenet Media content. Representatives for X also did not respond to a request for comment about Musk or about X’s handling of Tenet content. In posts on X, Musk has appeared unconcerned about Russia’s influence operations. The day after the indictment dropped, Musk accused The Associated Press of pushing anti-Trump “propaganda” in its coverage of Tenet Media. Southern and other commentators formerly employed by Tenet Media have said that they did nothing wrong.

Persons: Elon Musk, Tenet’s, Donald Trump, Trump, Musk’s reshare, Tenet, Dave Rubin, Benny Johnson, Christopher Wray, ” Tenet, Volodymyr Zelenskyy, Musk, X, Ben Shapiro, Josephine Lukito, ” Lukito, ”, Tim Pool, Rubin’s, Sen, Mark R, Martin Riedl, Lauren Southern, “, ” Musk, ” Southern Organizations: Elon, Tenet Media, NBC, Republican, White, Tenet, Radio Free, Radio Liberty, Social Design Agency, Associated Press, Trump, University of Texas, “, Tech, Senate Intelligence, Meta, Microsoft, Warner, Democratic, CNBC, School of Journalism, Media, University of Tennessee, NASA Locations: Russian, Russia, Radio Free Europe, Moscow, Knoxville, Europe

☆ How AI images of cats and ducks powered the pet-eating rumor mill
▼ + stars: | 2024-09-14 | by ( David Ingram | David Ingram Is A Tech Reporter For Nbc News. | ) www.nbcnews.com time to read: +8 min

The rumor mill about immigrants attacking household pets got its start in thinly sourced anecdotes shared at government meetings and on social media. Some of the images shared by social media users were openly prejudiced, showing Black people chasing after cats. These images and videos often create a more engaging and shareable post — regardless of whether they’re based in truth. There were cats holding military-style rifles to defend themselves, cats holding up political signs, cats and ducks sitting side-by-side, AI-generated humans holding cat-related signs and cats and ducks being cuddled by Trump. At least two of the widely viewed AI videos of Trump and animals were made using the software of Chinese AI startup MiniMax, according to watermarks on the videos.

Persons: Donald Trump, Elon Musk’s, Trump, Kamala Harris, A.J, Bauer, ”, ” Bauer, they’ve, Harris, ” Imran Ahmed, ” Ahmed, Jack Posobiec, Posobiec, Black, Jimmy Kimmel’s, Eric Swalwell, “, ” Trump, Alice Marwick, ” Marwick, we’ve, MiniMax Organizations: University of Alabama, Adobe, Local, Trump, Center, Judiciary, Republicans, Data & Society, Marwick, Consumers Locations: Springfield , Ohio

☆ In debate, Trump embraced false claims from the deep corners of the far-right internet
▼ + stars: | 2024-09-11 | by ( David Ingram | David Ingram Is A Tech Reporter For Nbc News. | ) www.nbcnews.com time to read: +7 min

Former President Donald Trump repeated a broad range of false claims, internet rumors and outlandish conspiracy theories during Tuesday night’s presidential debate, many of which might have seemed unintelligible without a deep understanding of obscure corners of far-right social media. Late in the debate right before the second break, Trump released a torrent of vague claims alleging corruption in the Biden administration. “At this debate, it was Trump who relayed a (false) online social media meme about migrants eating cats that showed his team in its own bubble,” he wrote. During Tuesday’s debate, one of Trump’s bizarre claims related to abortion. Midway through the debate, Trump spoke about election security and alleged that an unspecified “they” are trying to get illegal immigrants to vote.

Persons: Donald Trump, —, it’s, Trump, Biden, Biden doesn’t, ”, “ He’s, Hunter Biden, didn’t, Kamala Harris, Erick Erickson, “, Harris, Laura Loomer, Islamophobe, Logan Paul, Adin Ross, Josh Kraushaar, Joe Biden, Linsey Davis, Davis, Ralph Northam, Northam Organizations: U.S . Capitol, ABC, GOP, Conservative, Trump, Fox News Radio, Democratic, Associated Press, Reuters, Street, New Locations: Ohio, China, Ukraine, Moscow’s, Moscow, West Virginia, Virginia, New Republic

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