VICE dropped a major scoop about Elon Musk today concerning Musk’s controversial Twitter poll about how to resolve Russia’s war against Ukraine:
Elon Musk spoke directly with Russian President Vladimir Putin before tweeting a proposal to end the war in Ukraine that would have seen territory permanently ceded to Russia, it has been claimed. https://t.co/y4mgrm5unn
— VICE World News (@VICEWorldNews) October 11, 2022
“It has been claimed.” OK, but has it been verified?
Elon Musk spoke directly with Russian President Vladimir Putin before tweeting a proposal to end the war in Ukraine that would have seen territory permanently ceded to Russia, it has been claimed.
In a mailout sent to Eurasia Group subscribers, Ian Bremmer wrote that Tesla CEO Musk told him that Putin was “prepared to negotiate,” but only if Crimea remained Russian, if Ukraine accepted a form of permanent neutrality, and Ukraine recognised Russia’s annexation of Luhansk, Donetsk, Kherson and Zaporizhzhia.
According to Bremmer, Musk said Putin told him these goals would be accomplished “no matter what,” including the potential of a nuclear strike if Ukraine invaded Crimea, which Russia annexed in 2014. Bremmer wrote that Musk told him that “everything needed to be done to avoid that outcome.”
According to Ian Bremmer. That would be the same Ian Bremmer who made up a Donald Trump quote and tweeted it out without any acknowledgment that it was fake. The same Ian Bremmer who tweeted without evidence that 60% of Republicans, compared to 17% of Democrats, were unvaccinated at the end of last year.
Ian Bremmer is a highly unreliable source at best, but apparently that makes him reliable enough for VICE. Meanwhile, VICE apparently felt that Elon Musk, who is the subject of the story, didn’t need to have a chance to comment before VICE ran with the piece. The final sentence of the article is “Tesla and Musk have been contacted for comment.” That’s as far as VICE got.
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So, inquiring minds would very much like to know what Musk himself has to say about this.
Hi @elonmusk Is this true?https://t.co/C4tLJ1HtPy
— Sven Henrich (@NorthmanTrader) October 11, 2022
For the record, here’s what Musk would have told VICE had they decided to practice actual journalism and wait for his response:
No, it is not. I have spoken to Putin only once and that was about 18 months ago. The subject matter was space.
— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) October 11, 2022
Oh. Well, no wonder VICE didn’t wait for Musk to get back to them. If they had, it would’ve undercut their whole article.
Did literally anyone ask @elonmusk for comment for before running an explosive story insinuating he was acting on Putin's behalf? https://t.co/SAh5Oy87dQ
— Saagar Enjeti (@esaagar) October 11, 2022
Well, that’s normally how this stuff is supposed to work. But we need to remember whom we’re dealing with.
Lol you’re asking if @VICE did their due diligence before running a story https://t.co/fYGtOtpeIx
— Sean Agnew (@seanagnew) October 11, 2022
You could just say the story is from Vice – and everyone will know the story’s a lie.
— Catturd ™ (@catturd2) October 11, 2022
Pretty much.
— Kerri Gray (@kerrikgray) October 11, 2022
Great work as usual, VICE. Top notch.
We, of course, have no way of knowing exactly when Musk spoke with Putin or what they spoke about, but we know enough to not do what VICE did.
Anyway, maybe if VICE had taken the time to actually engage with Musk, they might’ve learned a little bit more about where he’s at right now:
Elon, would you be open to having a conversation with Putin again (if he permits, of course) and discuss the possibility options to peace plan so that the world could avert another war coming it’s way?
— Pranay Pathole (@PPathole) October 11, 2022
Pointless, as there is currently no overlap between Russian and Ukrainian demands – it’s not even close
— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) October 11, 2022
Put that in your next article, VICE.
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