Shortly after President-elect Donald Trump's reelection victory in early November 2024, a rumor spread online that X owner and Trump supporter Elon Musk had agreed to buy news network CNN for $3 billion.
For example, on Nov. 9, an X user shared a meme that read: "Elon Musk Agrees to $3 Billion to Buy CNN. Elon Musk Reportedly Eyeing CNN Acquisition: 'I'll Fix the Media, One Network at a Time.'"
Argentine President Javier Milei also promoted the rumor while speaking in front of the Argentine Chamber of Commerce on Nov. 7 — the same day Reuters reported on Milei's plans to later meet with Musk and Trump in the U.S.
Numerous social media users and some publishers also shared the purported news as fact, with some citing Milei's remarks.
However, the claim that Musk had purchased CNN was not true. The rumor originated weeks earlier on a website that described its output as parody and satire.
Largest Newspaper in Argentina Shared the Rumor
Of the many online posts sharing the rumor, one Facebook post from early November that received around 75,000 reactions read: "Elon Musk Agrees to $3 Billion to Buy CNN. Elon Musk Reportedly Eyeing CNN Acquisition: 'I'll Fix the Media, One Network at a Time.'"
A YouTube video from Nov. 1 displayed the title: "Elon Musk: 'I am officially buying CNN.'" Numerous users on X also repeated this rumor.
One publisher that shared the claim was Clarin — the Spanish-language newspaper with the largest distribution in Argentina. Clarin posted on X (archived) in early November: "Javier Milei revealed that Elon Musk 'bought' CNN and that it will be Donald Trump's chainsaw."
On Clarin.com, the Spanish-language article (archived) presented a brief transcription of the relevant section of Milei's remarks. He said, in part: "This is something to get excited about. You're going to see that what Donald Trump does will be talked about a little better, because today Elon Musk bought that filthy 'woke' bastion that was CNN, which means that now we're not only going to have freedom in X, but we're also going to have a network that's not so socialist, so left-wing." (Snopes used Google Translate to provide translations for this quote and others appearing in this story.)
The @NewsLiberdade X account published a brief video (archived) featuring Spanish subtitles that showed Milei's remarks about Musk and CNN.
As another example of a publisher sharing the false rumor, the conservative-political Brazilian production company Brasil Paralelo ran it in a Portuguese-language article in early November. The story's headline read: "Javier Milei revealed that Elon Musk 'bought' CNN." Hours later, Brasil Paralelo removed the article. The publisher has since reported a second story (archived) clarifying that no credible person confirmed Musk's supposed purchase of CNN. Even so, as of Nov. 8, Google search results still displayed the headline for the retracted story, as did several posts on X.
Musk-CNN Rumor Originated as Satire
On Oct. 24, PolitiFact (archived) reported the facts and origins of the false rumor that Musk had purchased CNN.
Six days earlier, on Oct. 18, the SpaceXMania website published an article (archived) displaying the same headline as the aforementioned Facebook post. That headline read: "Elon Musk Reportedly Eyeing CNN Acquisition: 'I'll Fix the Media, One Network at a Time.'"
The footer section of SpaceXMania.com clarified that its output consisted of parody and satire. The disclaimer read: "Welcome to SpaceXMania, your go-to source for the latest Parody news and hilarious satirical commentary. We want to emphasize that NOTHING ON THIS WEBSITE IS REAL! Enjoy Folks."
The SpaceXMania.com-affiliated Facebook page, SpaceX Fanclub, also shared a post on Oct. 18 reading: "Elon Musk Is Considering CNN Acquisition To Set Things Right, Says 'Our Country Will Be In A Better Place.'" The Intro for the Facebook page read: "We post SATIRE, nothing on this page is real."
For background, here is why we alert readers to rumors created by sources that call their output humorous or satirical.