Billionaire told to reign in supporters that ‘descend on women who criticize him and tear them to pieces’ (Picture: Twitter/ Getty/ AP

Elon Musk has been accused of stoking the flames of a ‘fan army’ that ‘harasses’ women who criticise him online.

The billionaire recently announced plans for a fact-checking website called PravDuh, which will rate the accuracy and trustworthiness of journalists, articles and publications.

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This plan was attacked by many members of the media, prompting Musk to come out and defend his plans by personally writing to journalists on Twitter.

One of the people who slammed the billionaire was freelance writer Erin Biba, who received a public message from Musk himself after tweeting: ‘A billionaire w/massive power @elonmusk lashed out at two of the most under-attack industries in the country: Journalism and Science.




‘Both are essential for democracy. We should criticize our important institutions, but we shouldn’t threaten their existence w/powerful ignorance.’

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She then went slightly off topic and launched an attack on masculinity in general, adding: ‘In this country, we deify self-made men who create empires and when they behave irresponsibly we call them ‘eccentric’ and say the good they have done for the world excuses their bad behaviour.’

Musk replied: ‘I have never attacked science. Definitely attacked misleading journalism like yours though.’

In an article for the Daily Beast, Biba later claimed this interaction prompted a string of offensive tweets from ‘fans’ of Musk.

She dubbed the billionaire’s supporters ‘MuskBros’ and described them as ‘mostly young, mostly white, almost entirely men’ who ‘make it their mission to descend on women who criticize Musk, and tear them to pieces’.

Musk is much more popular than the bosses of other tech firms and has been praised for his contributions to science and human progress (Photo: Getty/ Diego Donamaria)

However, there does not appear to be an actual community which calls itself the MuskBros and the word appears to have only been used on social media very recently, meaning it’s likely to have been dreamed up as an insult.

We also were unable to prove Musk’s supporters were young, white men because so many of the accounts they use on Twitter feature pseudonymous pictures.

Despite the fact Musk did not call on his Twitter followers to attack Biba, she suggested he had some responsibility for the behaviour of his fans.

‘I would just ask that before you point your fan army at any single person you pause and consider those broader consequences,’ Biba wrote.

‘It’s a cliche but it’s also correct: With great power comes great responsibility. And I can guarantee every woman that ever tweets your name certainly pauses first and considers if what she’s about to say is worth the inevitable impending abuse.’

Elon Musk’s ‘Starman’ aboard a Tesla Roadster that’s currently zooming through space (Photo: Instagram/ElonMusk)

The two sides now debating the issue on social media are already lining up into predictable ranks.

On one side are feminist journalists and their male ‘allies’ who feel extremely threatened by the nasty tweets people received after criticising Musk and want to silence or punish the people who wrote them.

It’s worth remembering that online journalists are often judged on the number of clicks they receive, which can make them seek to attract traffic by riling up their enemies and whipping up anger among their supporters.



On the other are men and women who write these nasty tweets after getting riled up by an article or post that criticises Musk.

They are committed to freedom of speech, even if it means social media is used to bombard their enemies with abusive and sometimes threatening messages.

Some of the people described as Muskbros called Biba an ‘unfuckable c***’ and told her to ‘shove your fake news up your c***’.

You can see some of the tweets from both sides below.

Honest and decent folks of Twitter:@upulie and @erinbiba (and countless others currently being harassed directly by a billionaire and/or actual Nazis) are the best of the internet, nay, humanity. Support them, follow their work, affirm their right to simply fucking exist. — Eric Holthaus (@EricHolthaus) May 26, 2018

.@erinbiba has done something incredibly brave. She's documented what happens when female journalists dare to question Elon Musk. https://t.co/B9H6KKFJxU — Noah Shachtman (@NoahShachtman) May 29, 2018

Here's how this will go:

1. Many "journalists" smeared Elon Musk

2. People laughed and called them stupid

3. Some of those stupid "journalists" happen to be women

4. More hit-pieces will come out focusing only on the women

5. Elon Musk is now leading a sexist harassment campaign pic.twitter.com/tUGUdgBh7s — Blarginfadiddlenohip (@Blarginohip) May 27, 2018

No @Erinbiba it isn't becuase you are a woman, though I'm sure the insults are gendered. By now most adults should be aware that the internet has millions of bored and often angry people with nothing better to do than insult you. Don't blame Elon for responding to your tweet https://t.co/CtyyrGH9Sp — Tim Pool (@Timcast) May 29, 2018

It's truly pathetic to see grown adults hiding behind their gender or race any time they say something insufferably wrong and get called out for it. — Ian Miles Cheong (@stillgray) May 29, 2018

Followers of the internet ‘culture wars’ will see clear parallels with the battle between members of the online movement ‘GamerGate’ and feminist ‘social justice warriors’ which erupted in 2014.

For some gamers, the controversy was a battle against censorship and a back-slapping, corrupt group of game journalists who seek to impose their views on the industry they work in.

But female reporters and game developers claimed the controversy led to threats of violence and rape.

As Musk moves forward with his plan to fact-check and challenge the media, it’s likely two similarly antagonistic groups will be set up.

During Gamergate, most mainstream publications lined up to attack gamers, fuelling claims that journalists were biased and only interested in telling stories which reflect their political allegiances.

This prompted young men to turn their backs on old-fashioned news organisations to form a growing shadow media helmed by figureheads like the YouTuber PewDiePie, who now commands an audience of 60 million subscribers which dwarves ‘dinosaur publications’.

Now people on the Gamergate side have another powerful ally in the war on the mainstream media.


And so new trenches are being dug as another front is opened in a culture war which refuses to be lost or won.

Problem is journos are under constant pressure to get max clicks & earn advertising dollars or get fired. Tricky situation, as Tesla doesn’t advertise, but fossil fuel companies & gas/diesel car companies are among world’s biggest advertisers. — Elon Musk (@elonmusk) May 23, 2018

Thought you’d say that. Anytime anyone criticizes the media, the media shrieks “You’re just like Trump!” Why do you think he got elected in the first place? Because no ones believes you any more. You lost your credibility a long time ago. — Elon Musk (@elonmusk) May 23, 2018

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