Billionaire Elon Musk was called out after he claimed Democrats are "literally foaming at the mouth" while sharing a supposed article from The Atlantic with the headline "Trump is Literally Hitler."
There's one major problem: The article doesn't exist.
In fact, an X Community Note beneath Musk's post—the latest example of X's owner being fact-checked by his own platform—states:
"This is not a real article. No such article with this headline exists on www.theatlantic.com. This is a satirical edit/photoshop of another article released by The Atlantic at the same time (October 22, 2024 3:38 PM ET)."
@Indian_Bronson/X
The fabricated image stems from a real report released Tuesday, which alleges that Trump privately commended Adolf Hitler's generals for their loyalty, stating he wanted "the kind of generals that Hitler had." A Trump spokesperson refuted the report in a statement to The Atlantic, calling it "absolutely false."
That article notes:
"A desire to force U.S. military leaders to be obedient to him and not the Constitution is one of the constant themes of Trump’s military-related discourse."
"Former officials have also cited other recurring themes: his denigration of military service, his ignorance of the provisions of the Uniform Code of Military Justice, his admiration for brutality and anti-democratic norms of behavior, and his contempt for wounded veterans and for soldiers who fell in battle."
So, if Democrats are "foaming at the mouth," they have pretty good reason—and Musk was swiftly called out for sharing what is literally fake news.
The Atlantic's article underscores the clear and present danger of a potential Trump presidency, just as he's made headlines for suggesting the possibility of using the military to address what he referred to as "the enemy from within," which he described as "radical left lunatics" who, in his mind, are more dangerous to our country than any foreign threats.
Trump has only doubled down on his revenge threats, describing his perceived enemies as "Marxists, communists, and fascists" and affirming his desire that the Justice Department go after his rivals.
@lpeterp/Bluesky
@FPWellman/X
@bobsbeatgmail.com5/Threads