Video: Elon Musk Calls Out BBC for Misinformation

In a recent interview with the BBC, Elon Musk, the owner of Twitter, called out the interviewer for spreading misinformation about COVID-19 vaccines and questioning him about the issue of ‘hate speech’ on the social media platform. The interview took a heated turn when the BBC’s tech reporter James Clayton asked Musk about the company’s policies on hate speech, stating that there were not enough moderators to police it.

Musk challenged Clayton to name one instance of hate speech on Twitter, to which Clayton could not provide any evidence. He went on to ask the interviewer to describe a hateful thing, to which Clayton replied that it could be something slightly racist or sexist. Musk countered by asking if something slightly sexist should be banned and accused Clayton of not knowing what he was talking about.

It seems that the individual conducting the interview did not adequately prepare beforehand.


The conversation then turned to COVID-19 misinformation, with Clayton asking Musk why Twitter had stopped taking action against tweets that violated its rules on misinformation. Musk replied that COVID-19 was no longer an issue and then asked Clayton about the BBC’s own misinformation regarding masking and the side effects of vaccinations.

Musk then accused the BBC of being put under anxiety by the British government to change its editorial policy and asked Clayton if he even liked the BBC, drawing an awkward response.

In addition, Musk addressed the controversy over Twitter labelling the BBC as ‘government-funded media,’ stating that the label will soon change to ‘publicly funded media’ to be more accurate.

Instead of providing an answer, Clayton opted to change the subject and proposed that they discuss a different topic:


The complete dialogue on the topics of ‘hate speech’ and ‘misinformation’ can be accessed through the provided audio recording:


In a later report on BBC News, the segments discussed in the interview regarding hate speech and COVID-19 misinformation were not shown. Instead, other parts of the interview were emphasized:

It appeared that Musk had anticipated this outcome, which explains why he live-streamed the entire interview on Spaces:


Overall, Musk’s confrontation with the BBC highlights the importance of accurate reporting and evidence-based claims, particularly in the era of social media, where misinformation can easily spread. The exchange also underscores the need for clear policies and guidelines on hate speech and misinformation on social media platforms.

Furthermore, during the interview, Musk inquired if Clayton had a favorable view of the BBC, prompting an uncomfortable response from the interviewer.


In addition, Musk made a statement to Clayton that his dog had become the CEO of the platform! 

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