No, Elon Musk didn’t take over MSNBC or replace Rachel Maddow with Joe Rogan

Entrepreneur Elon Musk acquired Twitter and reimagined it as X, but claims he took over MSNBC and replaced one of its marquee hosts with podcaster Joe Rogan are unfounded. 

"Joe Rogan to replace Rachel Maddow as MSNBC’s prime-time host after Elon Musk takeover," a Dec. 1 Facebook post said.

It was flagged as part of Meta’s efforts to combat false news and misinformation on its News Feed. (Read more about our partnership with Meta, which owns Facebook, Instagram and Threads.)

This claim originated on a self-described satire page, where it was clearly labeled as such. 

"Joe Rogan to replace Rachel Maddow as MSNBC’s prime-time host after Elon Musk takeover - SATIRE POST," a Nov. 24 post on the SpaceX Fanclub Facebook page said.

Text in the post’s upper left corner said "rated satire." Text in the post’s upper right corner said, "Nothing on this page is real if you believe anything we post then you’re potato crop."

But the post was reshared on Facebook with no such disclaimers.

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Threads posts

stated on November 10, 2024 in a Threads post

California Gov. Gavin Newsom “is considering plans to secede from the union.”

Maddow hosts MSNBC’s "The Rachel Maddow Show," which airs at 9 p.m. Eastern Standard Time on Mondays. Rogan hosts a popular eponymous podcast. 

The media widely reported on Musk’s purchase of Twitter, and an effort to control MSNBC would be well covered. But no such reports exist, much less public statements from Musk or MSNBC. 

We rate this post False.