A post shared on Threads claims musician Taylor Swift said, “Elon Musk, the first human in history to be radicalized by his own algorithm.”
Verdict: False
There is no evidence Swift made this comment.
Fact Check:
President-elect Donald Trump and Sen. Ted Cruz are expected to attend the launch of SpaceX’s reusable rocket, Starship, in Texas, according to CNBC. Musk has spent quite a lot of time with Trump, who selected Musk to co-lead a new “Department of Government Efficiency” alongside entrepreneur Vivek Ramaswamy, the outlet reported.
A Threads post claims Swift said Musk was “radicalized.” The post shares the alleged quote in white text on a black background.
“Elon Musk, the first human in history to be radicalized by his own algorithm,” the alleged quote reads.
This claim is baseless, however. There are no credible news reports about Swift making this statement. It also cannot be found on Swift’s social media accounts. (RELATED: Did Taylor Swift Cancel Shows In Red States After The Election?)
The original quote stems from an Aug. 8 article from The Independent written by psychology professor Sander van der Linden, van der Linden confirmed in an email to Check Your Fact.
The article’s headline reads, “Has Elon Musk been radicalised by his own platform?”
“It’s almost as if he’s not realising that he’s radicalising himself on his own platform,” van der Linden writes. “We know from neuropsychological research that learning your views align with those of others activates reward circuits in the brain. It’s like a dopamine hit.” The article suggests Musk is spending too much time on the platform and speaks about the connection between forming views and the “reward circuits in the brain.”