Billionaire tech mogul Elon Musk found himself in the hot seat after a reporter fact-checked his claim about the U.S. government sending $50 million worth of condoms to Gaza. The exchange took place in the Oval Office with Trump, where Musk admitted he had gotten the details wrong.
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The controversy began when Musk, known for his outspoken social media presence, posted on X (formerly Twitter) that the massive shipment of condoms was an example of government fraud. However, the reporter pointed out that the condoms were actually sent to Mozambique—not Gaza—as part of an USAID HIV prevention program.
Confronted with the correction, Musk acknowledged his mistake but didn’t completely back down from his skepticism. “First of all, some of the things that I say will be incorrect and should be corrected,” he admitted. “Nobody’s going to bat a thousand. We will make mistakes, but we’ll act quickly to correct any mistakes.”
Still, he questioned the need for such a large shipment, regardless of its intended destination. “I’m not sure we should be sending $50 million worth of condoms to anywhere, frankly,” he said. “That is really an enormous number of condoms if you think about it.”
The moment was particularly ironic given Musk’s stance on journalism. He often tells his millions of followers on X that “they are the journalists” and encourages them to question mainstream media narratives. Yet, this incident shows that Musk himself doesn’t always fact-check before making claims online.
While Musk may advocate for citizen journalism, the incident raises questions about his own responsibility to verify information before sharing it with his massive audience.
