E-Paper
Fact check: Did Erika Kirk really ask Elon Musk to remove Druski's viral skit from X?
Viral claims linking Erika Kirk and Elon Musk to Druski’s video are false and based on fake posts.
A viral claim has been making rounds online suggesting that Erika Kirk, CEO of Turning Point USA has asked Elon Musk to take down comedian Drew "Druski" Desbordes' satirical video from X.
What the viral posts claim?
According to screenshots posted by a user on X, Kirk allegedly reached out to Musk directly, writing: "@elonmusk take this down. I am not exaggerating when I say this man has now racked up over 150 million views humiliating me, mocking me, and turning me into a global joke while your platform just lets it spread. This is disgusting, defamatory, and degrading. Remove it!"
The viral posts then claim Musk fired back with a response defending free speech on his platform: "The video has 150M views because people want to watch it. X supports free speech, comedy, parody, and content people choose to engage with. We are not removing lawful content just because it offends someone. That is not how this platform works."
It is a compelling back-and-forth. The problem is that none of it actually happened. Erika Kirk did not ask for the video to be taken down, and Elon Musk did not post any such reply.
Confusion caused by AI error
When a user asked Grok to identify the person in a screenshot from Druski's skit, the chatbot got it completely wrong. Instead of identifying the comedian, Grok wrote: "That's Erika Kirk, the actress/comedian starring in Druski's satirical skit. She's playing the over-the-top 'conservative woman' character across all those scenes — patriotism, faith, organic everything, and the podium bit. Spot-on performance for the laughs!"
The response racked up over 111,000 likes with thousands of replies and reposts spreading the misidentification even further across the platform.
Despite the controversy and misinformation, Druski’s skit continues to gain traction online. The video has received more than 178 million views on X, while the viral claims and fake posts continue to circulate.
