Claim about Elon Musk banning pride flags originated as satire
If Your Time is short
- This claim originated on a satire website.
- There is no evidence Musk called for pride flags in classrooms to be banned.
The post directed readers to an article that claimed “In a post on social media, Musk stated: ‘Classrooms are places for education, not political or ideological indoctrination. Pride flags and other symbols of this nature should be banned, forever.’”
(Screenshot of Facebook post)
The 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, Instagram and Threads.)
PolitiFact reviewed Nexis archives and found no news reports of Musk calling to ban pride flags from classrooms, nor does such a statement appear on Musk’s X account.
Although Musk has made newsworthy and controversial comments about LGBTQ+ issues and his own transgender daughter, this particular claim originated on SpaceX Fanclub, which has a Facebook page declaring, “We post SATIRE nothing on this page is real.” Its Sept. 4 post read, “Elon Musk Says: ‘Pride Flags Should Be Banned from Classrooms, Permanently!’ (Satire)” and linked in the comments to the satire site Esspots.com. The SpaceX post also included a watermark indicating it is “Rated Satire,” a disclaimer that did not appear on the Facebook post.
We have fact-checked several claims that originated on SpaceX Fanclub or Esspots and spread without any disclaimers. Other fact-checking outlets including Snopes, USA Today, and Check your Fact have also debunked similar posts.
The claim that Elon Musk called for pride flags to be banned in classrooms originated on a satire site. We rate this claim False.
Our Sources
Esspots, “Elon Musk Says: “Pride Flags Should Be Banned from Classrooms, Permanently!” (archived), Sept. 5, 2024
USAStory, “Elon Musk Declares: “Pride Flags Should Be Banned from Classrooms, Forever!” Following His Snub of Boxer Imane Khelif at the 2024 Olympics,” (archived), accessed Oct. 4, 2024
Facebook profile, https://www.facebook.com/SpaceX6683
USA Today, “Musk says estranged child’s gender-affirming care sparked fight against ‘woke mind virus’,” July 22, 2024
NBC News, “Elon Musk’s new Twitter pronoun rule invites bullying, LGBTQ groups say,” June 1, 2023
The Guardian, “JK Rowling and Elon Musk named in Imane Khelif cyberbullying lawsuit,” Aug. 14, 2024
Business Insider, “Elon Musk spent the last 24 hours spreading increasingly unhinged anti-trans content,” June 2, 2023
X search, “”pride flags” from:elonmusk,” accessed Oct. 4, 2024
Check Your Fact, “FACT CHECK: Did Musk Call For Banning Pride Flags In Schools?,” Sept. 12, 2024
USA Today, “Elon Musk called for ban on pride flag in schools? No, that’s satire,” Sept. 10, 2024
Snopes, “Elon Musk Said Pride Flags Should Be Banned From Classrooms?,” Sept. 7, 2024
PolitiFact, “Satirical story about Candace Owens trying to ban Taylor Swift from the NFL spreads without context,” June 25, 2024
PolitiFact, “Taylor Swift isn’t banned from upcoming NFL games (but maybe this zombie claim should be),” Sept. 26, 2024
PolitiFact, “Claims Elon Musk endorsed Caitlin Clark originated on satire site,” Aug. 6, 2024
PolitiFact, “Taylor Swift did not lose a $125 million brand contract after endorsing Kamala Harris,” Sept. 20, 2024
PolitiFact, “Claim that Elon Musk is funding ‘anti-woke’ show with Tucker Carlson is satire,” Sept. 12, 2024
PolitiFact, “No, Steelers coach did not call Pride Month ‘woke crap.’ That claim started as satire,” June 14, 2024
PolitiFact, “Not the real thing: Coca-Cola didn’t break ties with Taylor Swift after Kamala Harris endorsement,” Sept. 18, 2024
PolitiFact, “No, Taylor Swift’s didn’t cancel Eras Tour shows after endorsing Kamala Harris,” Sept. 18, 2024
PolitiFact, “No, Travis Kelce didn’t endorse Kamala Harris for president,” Sept. 24, 2024
PolitiFact, “Jason Aldean didn’t refuse $500 million collaboration with Taylor Swift because her “music is woke”,” Aug. 26, 2024
Research/Study
Anti-LGBTQ hate has increased on Twitter since Elon Musk officially acquired the company
Media Matters has found that prominent anti-LGBTQ accounts’ “groomer” rhetoric has exploded in reach since Musk’s takeover – retweets of their use of the slur have increased over 1200%
Published
A new report from Media Matters and GLAAD shows that since Elon Musk took over as Twitter CEO and plunged the company into chaos with erratic decisions, anti-LGBTQ rhetoric has increased on the platform, despite his claims and actions to the contrary, including disbanding Twitter’s Trust and Safety Council. Media Matters has found that retweets of right-wing figures’ tweets that included the anti-LGBTQ “groomer” slur increased substantially, as did mentions of right-wing figures in tweets containing the slur.
Key findings include:
- Anti-LGBTQ accounts that saw substantial increases in both retweets of and mentions in tweets with the slur included Tim Pool, Jack Posobiec, Jake Shield, Gays Against Groomers, Blaire White, Allie Beth Stuckey, Andy Ngo, Seth Dillon, and Mike Cernovich.
- Collectively, these 9 accounts saw an over 1,200% increase in retweets of tweets with the slur, going from nearly 3,600 to over 48,000, and they saw an over 1,100% increase in mentions in tweets with the slur, going from over 5,300 to more than 65,000.
- Other right-wing accounts also saw substantial increases of mentions in tweets containing the slur. For instance, Libs of TikTok saw more than a 600% increase in its mentions, going from nearly 2,000 to nearly 14,000, while Rep. Mayra Flores (R-TX) saw a nearly 6,000% increase, going from nearly 70 mentions to over 4,000.
- Anti-LGBTQ figure James Lindsay and right-wing satire site Babylon Bee have earned thousands of retweets on posts perpetuating the anti-LGBTQ “groomer” slur and have been mentioned in thousands of tweets referencing the slur since their accounts were reinstated by Musk.
- Mentions of prominent LGBTQ accounts in tweets with the “groomer” slur also increased during the time frame, with one account seeing an increase of over 225,000% after Musk officially acquired the platform.
