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From the Huffington Post: Axios CEO Jim VandeHei got fired up over Elon Musk’s claims that users on Twitter-turned-X are replacing legacy media.
While delivering a fervent speech at the National Press Club last Thursday, VandeHei slammed the tech billionaire for suggesting that social media users who aren’t professional journalists can provide news coverage without formal training.
“Everything we do is under fire. Elon Musk sits on Twitter every day — or X today — saying like, ‘We are the media,’ ‘You are the media,’” VandeHei, a former political reporter for The Washington Post and co-founder of Politico, said at the time. “My message to Elon Musk is: Bullshit. You are not the media.”
VandeHei added, “You having a blue checkmark, a Twitter handle and 300 words of cleverness doesn’t make you a reporter. … You don’t do that by popping off on Twitter. You don’t do that by having an opinion. You do it by doing the hard work.”
“You can’t proclaim yourself to be a reporter! That’s nonsense! Being a reporter is hard… really hard! You have to care! You have to do the hard work. You have to get up every single day and say ‘I want to closest approximation of the truth without any fear and without any favoritism,'” VandeHei ironically raged.
The video then showed a reaction by MSNBC’s Morning Joe co-hosts.
Trending Politics co-owner shared a video of VandeHei’s wild tirade on X Monday morning, and wrote, “Journalist Jim VandeHei has profanity laced meltdown because Elon Musk keeps telling creators on X that they are the media now. I didn’t realize how triggering this was to these clowns 😂.”
NEW: Journalist Jim VandeHei has profanity laced meltdown because Elon Musk keeps telling creators on X that they are the media now.
I didn’t realize how triggering this was to these clowns 😂
“Everything we do is under fire. Elon Musk sits on Twitter every day or X today… pic.twitter.com/qQoOhRViz8
— Collin Rugg (@CollinRugg) November 25, 2024
Elon Musk first responded to the outburst by writing on X, “Yeah, whatever lmao. You are the media now. And legacy media know it.”
In another post, Musk doubled down, writing, “That’s because it’s working. You are the media now.”
That’s because it’s working.
You are the media now. https://t.co/EF2s9NZ4mh
— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) November 25, 2024
“The legacy media forgot that honesty really is the best policy. Now you are the media,” Musk wrote in another post.
The legacy media forgot that honesty really is the best policy.
Now you are the media.
— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) November 25, 2024
Another post on X revealed the “real reason” why Axios is mad at Musk – their traffic is plummeting, while usage on X is skyrocketing.
Nothing better than watching public meltdowns from the people who have lied to you over the past decade.
— Collin Rugg (@CollinRugg) November 25, 2024
More responses to VandeHei’s tirade below:
💯
— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) November 25, 2024
Yeah, this is the reaction of a desperate person.
He can tell public trust is slipping from his finger tips.
— Collin Rugg (@CollinRugg) November 25, 2024
Yep. Elon wasn’t kidding when he said he’d put the media out of business.
— Collin Rugg (@CollinRugg) November 25, 2024
He just legitimized everything Elon said😂😂😂😂
— Spitfire (@DogRightGirl) November 25, 2024
Bingo https://t.co/Bslb1Awbpv
— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) November 25, 2024
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