Tech billionaire Elon Musk purchased Twitter on 28 October 2022, rebranded it X, and has frequently used the platform to broadcast his own views.
According to Reporters Without Borders (RSF), between September 2024 and September 2025, Musk published 1 027 posts attacking journalists or media outlets – an average of almost three per day.
The study examined all his posts, replies and quote posts during that period, only counting those that criticised or undermined the media.
His attacks range from calling The New York Times “pure propaganda” to dismissing journalists as “legacy media” who “lie.”
In many posts, he accuses news organisations of spreading “disinformation,” being politically biased, or acting as mouthpieces for the US Democratic Party. More than a third of the posts analysed suggested the media intentionally mislead the public.
Musk says X is the ‘antidote’
In contrast, Musk repeatedly promotes X as the only honest alternative.
“You are the media now” is one of his favoured slogans – a message that encourages users to rely on citizen journalists and content creators rather than professional reporting.
RSF notes that over half of these media-related posts were quote posts of accounts known for spreading misinformation, including “End Wokeness” and “Libs of TikTok.”
Vincent Berthier, head of RSF’s Technology and Journalism Desk, warns that Musk’s rhetoric is not a series of random outbursts but a deliberate ploy.
“His strategy rests on a simple process: weaken trust in the press, radicalise public debate, and position his own social media platform, X, as a vital source of information,” said Berthier.
Musk’s attacks intensified during politically sensitive periods. In the week leading up to the November 2024 US presidential election, he shared 58 anti-media posts, accusing outlets of “far-left propaganda” and election interference.
He also targeted media coverage in the UK and South Africa, repeating claims – including a so-called “white genocide” in South Africa – that are not supported by evidence or official stats.
RSF argues this approach has reshaped X into a platform where distrust of journalism is fuelled daily. At the same time, Musk is building X into a business model where influential users, rather than newsrooms, dominate information flow.
“The goal is no longer to provide access to information produced by journalists, but to turn every user into a content producer, their work presented as the equivalent to that of seasoned journalists,” RSF wrote.
Three years on, the world’s richest man is still tweeting – and almost every eight hours, it’s at the media.
