Priyanka Tiwari
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Suspense crime, Digital Desk : Elon Musk, the owner of X (formerly Twitter), has deleted a viral post that misleadingly suggested former President Donald Trump was not mentioned in the recently unsealed court documents related to the disgraced financier Jeffrey Epstein. The post, a meme, was viewed by millions before it was removed without explanation.
The meme featured a character from the cartoon SpongeBob SquarePants frantically searching through a massive pile of papers, with a caption implying the character was looking for Trump's name in the Epstein files and failing to find it. Musk amplified the message by adding his own comment: "Where is he?"
Elon has deleted his slanderous tweets about the President of the United States.
— James Fishback (@j_fishback) June 7, 2025
Good first step. Next up: full-throated apology to Trump and his family. pic.twitter.com/zDj58lgORV
The post quickly ignited controversy and was flagged by fact-checkers because its central premise is false. While Donald Trump is not accused of any criminal wrongdoing in the newly released documents, his name does appear multiple times. The mentions are primarily in witness depositions and flight logs, confirming that Trump knew Epstein and had traveled on his private jet on several occasions.
Musk’s decision to quietly delete the post after several hours suggests a potential retreat from spreading misinformation. The incident highlights the ongoing tension for the tech billionaire, who champions a "free speech absolutist" approach for X while frequently using the platform to engage with and promote politically charged, and sometimes inaccurate, content.
The quiet removal has left users speculating whether it was a rare self-correction or a simple backing away from a narrative that was easily disproven.
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