Outspoken billionaire Elon Musk took to X, formerly Twitter, to express his latest feelings on political issues covered by The New York Times. While the paper is, of course, considered to be more liberal in its political positions, Musk has claimed to be half Democrat and half Republican, or politically moderate, according to Market Realist. This hasn't stopped him from now going head-to-head with the publisher.
The New York Times (NYT) -) article “'Kill the Boer’ Song Fuels Backlash in South Africa and U.S.” has the South African-born Musk choosing sides. He claims the publisher is “openly pushing for genocide of white people in South Africa.”
The New York Times actually has the nerve to support calls for genocide! If ever there was a time to cancel that publication, it is now.
— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) August 4, 2023
You can read their articles for free anyway using https://t.co/2NjvMTsWmj. pic.twitter.com/ow11wxw7Ny
The idea that The New York Times would be promoting genocide may sound absurd, and that's probably because it is. The article that Musk called out is reporting on a recent political rally in Johannesburg in which a leftist party leader chanted "Kill the Boer!" in front of, and along, with thousands of party supporters.
Julius Malema, who was leading the Anti-Apartheid rally, was the one who began the chant and stated later that he didn’t know that he would need to educate Musk. At a news conference Malema said: “Why must I educate Elon Musk? He looks like an illiterate. The only thing that protects him is his white skin.”
The chant is meant to fuel the disenchanted, according to historian Nomalanga Mkhize. “Young people feel that it rouses them up when they sing it today. I don’t think that they intend it to mean any harm," he told the Times.
Musk claims the article is openly supporting the genocide of white farmers in South Africa and called on his followers to boycott The New York Times. Musk even shared a link to override the Times' paywall.
The New York Times said in May it has about 9.7 million print and digital subscribers.
