Did Elon Musk say he might buy the TV talk show "The View" just so he could cancel it -- as claimed in a meme on social media? No, that's not true: The text caption and composite image showing show co-host Whoopi Goldberg and Elon Musk originated in a March 4, 2023, article on the satirical website Patriot Party Press. The website has disclaimers stating, "Nothing on this page is real," but many of the recycled versions of the claim circulating on social media, including in this meme and in plagiarized articles, have no disclaimer or clues about the content's satirical origin.
The claim resurfaced in a post (archived here) in a Facebook group on March 20, 2024. The post was captioned:
One could only hope, he buys out Stephen Colbert, and Jimmy Kimmel as well... oh, and please buy out dominion so we don't have to wear voter fraud.
This is what the post looked like on Facebook at the time of the writing of this fact check:
(Source: Facebook screenshot taken on Fri Mar 22 16:42:20 2024 UTC)
The text captioning in the meme is a direct copy of the headline that appeared in a March 4, 2023, satirical article on patriotpartypress.com, part of the America's Last Line Of Defense (ALLOD) network. The article was shared on the ALLOD Facebook page (pictured below) with the title:
Elon Musk Says He Might Buy 'The View' Just to Cancel It: 'It's Nothing But Trash'
(Source: Facebook screenshot taken on Fri Mar 22 18:24:52 2024 UTC)
The talk show "The View" has frequently been a target for the ALLOD satirical websites, which have a formula to publish articles that might appeal to a segment of the population ALLOD calls "Taters" or "geriatric Trumpsters." A Google search ("The View" site:patriotpartypress.com) shows a variety of headlines (archived here) that are designed to seem plausible. One example: "ABC Says Whoopi Can Pay The $22M Rittenhouse Settlement Or She Can Leave The View."
On the About Us page of patriotpartypress.com, however, a disclaimer cautions:
Everything on this website is fiction. It is not a lie and it is not fake news because it is not real. If you believe that it is real, you should have your head examined. Any similarities between this site's pure fantasy and actual people, places, and events are purely coincidental and all images should be considered altered and satirical. See above if you're still having an issue with that satire thing.
The site is run by self-described liberal troll Christopher Blair.
A similar meme circulated in 2022 featuring an image of "The View" co-host Joy Behar. It was debunked by Snopes on May 10, 2022. That meme was captioned:
Elon Musk issued a tender offer to buy 'The View' outright for $17 and a coupon for a free appetizer at Applebee's.
X owner Elon Musk has also described himself as "(CTO) Chief Troll Officer" in a January 8, 2024, post on his personal X account (pictured below) -- a fact that could encourage belief in the claim on Facebook. A Google search for "Elon Musk" AND "Buy The View" (archived here) only returns results that reference satirical stories and prior fact checks.
(Source: X screenshot taken on Fri Mar 22 19:12:52 2024 UTC)
Additional Lead Stories fact checks of claims about Elon Musk can be found here. Our fact checks of claims about "The View" can be read here.
