FACT CHECK: Did Elon Musk Refer To USAID As ‘One Of The Biggest Globalist Terror Organizations In History?’
An image shared on Facebook claims Tesla CEO Elon Musk purportedly said the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) is “one of the biggest globalist terror organizations in history.”
Verdict: False
The purported remark is not found using an advanced search of Musk’s verified X profile, @elonmusk, and there is no other evidence suggesting he made the purported remark.
Fact Check:
Only 294 staff members at the USAID will keep their jobs amid a government reorganization program led by Musk, according to Reuters. President Donald Trump’s administration announced on Feb. 4 that it would put all directly hired USAID employees on leave, the outlet reported.
The Facebook image claims Musk purportedly said the USAID is “one of the biggest globalist terror organizations in history.”
“Elon Musk has exposed USAID as a huge international money-laundering scam that used $48 million a year in US tax dollars as a slush fund for scams, woke projects, and corruption. Elon Musk officially cancelled USAID and fired all the staff. In his words, ‘we just toppled one of the biggest globalist terror organizations in history.’ Praise God!” text that appears on the image reads. The image does not provide a source to support the claim.
The claim is false. Check Your Fact conducted an advanced search of Musk’s verified X profile, @elonmusk, and did not find the purported remark there. Likewise, neither the White House nor Trump appears to have publicly commented on the claim.
In addition, the USAID has not referenced the claim via its official LinkedIn page. The agency’s website, X, Instagram, and YouTube accounts are not available as of writing. (RELATED: Facebook Post Makes False Claim About Elon Musk, Families Of Jan. 6 Participants)
Check Your Fact also did not find any credible news reports to support the claim. Actually, the opposite is true. On Feb. 6, Lead Stories debunked the claim. According to the outlet, Musk did refer to the USAID as a “criminal organization” via a Feb. 2 post shared on his X account. Musk said it was “time for [the USAID] to die” via the same post, the outlet indicated.
Check Your Fact has contacted Musk for comment.