Altered video makes false claims about Elon Musk

The five exclamation points utilized in a recent Facebook post signal big news, but there’s nothing to see here. 

"Shocked!" the May 6 post said. "No one wanted to see what happened to Elon Musk this morning!!"

A link in the post announced, "The tragic end of Elon Musk! The news this morning shocked the UK!"

And a video in the post appeared to show a BBC News report promising that "British residents no longer need to work" thanks to X owner Elon Musk.   

This post 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 and Instagram.)

First, there’s no mention of Musk’s alleged "tragic end." He is alive (and active on X). And his companies haven’t shuttered.

In the video, the BBC News host appears to explain that Musk’s purported new project will allow residents to earn passive income every day. It then cuts to a video of Musk who appears to expand on this supposed opportunity. 

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stated on September 20, 2024 in an X post

First lady Jill Biden led a Cabinet meeting for President Joe Biden and her signature appears on presidential stationery.

But the video of Musk comes from a March 2023 appearance he made at the World Governments Summit — not a BBC News interview about a get-rich-quick scheme.

PolitiFact has fact-checked a similar claim before. In 2023, another altered BBC News report made it appear as though the host said British residents no longer needed to work thanks to Musk. 

That was false and so is this. We rate this claim Pants on Fire!