Photo: Elon Musk at the Royal Society, 2018. Debbie Rowe, CC BY-SA 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons.
Nine words. No link, no chart, no evidence. Elon Musk's latest swipe at traditional journalism took less than a sentence, and it reached more than 17 million views in well under a day. So who is the "fool" here: the person who still reads the newspaper, or the person who gets their news from a billionaire's timeline?
Key points
- Likes on Musk's post (Oct 22, 9:47 AM Riyadh): 207,605
- Views: 17,253,953
- Reposts / Replies: 24,796 / 8,998
- U.S. trust in mass media, Gallup 2026: 33%
- Record low, Gallup 2025: 28%
- Republican trust, 2025 to 2026: 8% to 22%
The post
"Some fools still think the legacy news is real. Amazing." — Elon Musk (@elonmusk), October 21, 2026
Musk posted it on October 21, 2026 at 6:38 PM Riyadh time (UTC+3) (15:38 UTC). It was a standalone post, not a reply. About five minutes earlier he had reposted an @america clip quoting independent journalist Nick Shirley: "When I exposed fraud, instead of the mainstream media investigating the fraud, they investigated me."
The numbers
As of October 22, 2026, 9:47 AM Riyadh time (UTC+3), X's public metrics for the post showed:
- 207,605 likes
- 24,796 reposts
- 8,998 replies
- 1,925 quote posts
- 17,253,953 views
These figures are still rising and will be higher by the time you read this.
What Musk is arguing
Musk has spent years calling traditional outlets "legacy media" and pushing X as the place where news breaks first. The October 21 post is the bluntest version of that pitch: the problem isn't one bad story, it's the whole category. Less than a week earlier, on October 16, he wrote that a man "was played for a fool by the legacy media, who pushed the Nazi salute lie."
His supporters showed up fast. Catturd (@catturd2) quote-posted him: "It's hard to believe that in 2026 people still believe legacy fake news. Propaganda." That post passed 10,000 likes.
The pushback
The replies weren't all applause. A recurring argument was that X itself leans on the outlets Musk mocks. "Then why does your Community Notes feature rely on legacy media links for credibility?" asked @SchoppingHauer. Another user, @MidwestGoBlue, wrote: "The fact that Community Notes is rampant on X says something about the trustworthiness of X for 'news'."
Critics also pointed out that "legacy news" isn't one thing. It covers wire services, local papers, cable networks and investigative desks. They differ a lot in quality, and they publish corrections in a way anonymous viral accounts rarely do. Others wrote back that a correction published after a story has spread isn't much comfort.
What the trust data actually says
This is where things get more complicated for both sides. Gallup's latest reading, from its September 1-17, 2026 poll published September 29, 2026, found that 33% of U.S. adults have a "great deal" or "fair amount" of confidence in newspapers, TV and radio to report the news "fully, accurately and fairly."
That's weak by historical standards, but it is up from the record low of 28% in 2025, which Gallup reported as the first reading below 30%. Two-thirds of Americans still have "not very much" (33%) or "none at all" (33%) confidence.
The twist is that most of the rebound came from Republicans, the group most likely to agree with Musk. Their trust jumped from 8% to 22%, the highest since 2015. Democrats held at 50% and independents at 31%.
So Musk's broad point about distrust holds up: most Americans are skeptical of mainstream reporting. But the newest data shows trust going up a little, not down.
Why it matters
When the owner of a major news-distribution platform calls a competing source of information "not real" in front of 17 million viewers, that's more than an opinion. It's a pitch for where you should get your facts. The real question isn't "legacy or X?" It's whether any single source should get your blind trust. Check the primary documents and compare outlets, and treat viral posts, including this one, as a starting point rather than a verdict.
FAQ
What exactly did Elon Musk post?
"Some fools still think the legacy news is real. Amazing." He posted it on X on October 21, 2026.
How popular was it?
More than 207,000 likes and 17.2 million views by the morning of October 22 (Riyadh time).
Is trust in the media at a record low?
Not anymore. The record low was 28% in 2025. Gallup's September 2026 poll shows 33%.
Did Musk say why?
The post itself gives no specific reason or example.
Related coverage: reports linking Musk to the Starlink slowdown in Ukraine · X's $3,000 Video Kickstart Bonus for creators
Sources
- Elon Musk on X, Oct 21, 2026
- Musk repost of @america (Nick Shirley quote)
- Musk on X, Oct 16, 2026
- Catturd on X
- @SchoppingHauer reply
- @MidwestGoBlue reply
- Gallup, "U.S. Media Trust: Edges Up From Record Low" (Sept 29, 2026)
- Gallup, "Trust in Media at New Low of 28% in U.S." (Oct 2, 2025)
- Image: Debbie Rowe, Wikimedia Commons (CC BY-SA 3.0)
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