Robert De Niro isn’t on social media, wasn’t banned by Elon Musk

The declare: Elon Musk banned ‘woke’ Robert DeNiro from X platform

An Aug. 17 Instagram publish (, ) reveals a picture of actor Robert De Niro.

“Breaking: Elon Musk Completely Bans Robert De Niro From Platform X, ‘I Don’t Need His Woke Presence On X,’” reads on-screen textual content included within the publish.

The publish acquired greater than 3,000 likes in 4 days.

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Our score: False

De Niro doesn’t use social media and has no connection to a suspended X account utilizing his title, his publicist stated. The declare originated months earlier from an account that posts satirical content material.

‘De Niro shouldn’t be on social media, interval’

De Niro, a , is a longtime critic of former President Donald Trump. Throughout an interview with MSNBC in Could, he to the reigns of dictators Adolf Hitler and Benito Mussolini. Musk – who owns the X platform and – the .

However the declare that Musk banned the De Niro from the platform is fake, based on the actor’s publicist, who stated he’s “not on social media.”

Reality test:

A screenshot of in August. However , the actor’s publicist, advised USA TODAY the 81-year-old actor has no connection to that account and doesn’t use social media.

A claiming to be De Niro’s official account stays energetic however has not posted in additional than a decade, sharing its solely publish in Could 2014. When offered with a hyperlink to that account, Rosenfield responded, “I believe you might be protected to say that De Niro shouldn’t be on social media, interval.”

The textual content within the Instagram picture – which features a quote purportedly from Musk – is almost similar to the on June 6 by The Patriots Lovers,  affiliated with the satirical SpaceXMania web site. The one distinction is the addition of the phrase “breaking” to the model shared to Instagram.

The writer of the account, Tim Lawson, confirmed to USA TODAY that the publish is fabricated. Each the picture posted to Fb and its caption clarify they’re satire.

The Instagram publish is an instance of what may very well be referred to as “stolen satire,” the place posts written as satire and offered that approach initially are reposted in a approach that makes them seem like professional information. In consequence, readers of the second-generation publish are misled, as was the case right here.

USA TODAY beforehand debunked a false declare that at anti-Israel protesters.

The Instagram consumer who shared the publish couldn’t be reached. USA TODAY reached out to X for remark however didn’t instantly obtain a response that addressed the declare.

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This text initially appeared on USA TODAY: