(Twitter / @bennyjohnson, @elonmusk)

Right-wing activist group Project Veritas released a viral video as part of a series on Twitter last night, which appears to show a purported Twitter employee at a bar calling Elon Musk “mentally handicapped” because the billionaire is on the spectrum.

In the video, the Twitter employee, who appears inebriated and seems to believe he is on a date, shares his views on content moderation, saying Twitter is unprofitable “because of ideology” and that Elon Musk’s perspective is unrealistic and impractical.

He then goes on to say Elon Musk’s purchase of Twitter is ill-advised and Musk is incompetent because he is “special needs” and “has Asperger’s.” Then, he pulls out his phone and shows the Project Veritas staffer an email from Twitter warning employees about efforts by organizations like Project Veritas to entrap and film them.

Reaction online was largely hostile to both Musk and the Twitter employee. Advocates for people on the spectrum were quick to point out that “Asperger's” is not a favored term, since it finds its origins in Nazi Germany. Others were troubled by the evidence of bias against neurodivergent people at the influential social media company.

Some argued that Musk should not represent the broader community of people on the spectrum, because his actions are his own and his circumstances very unique.

Elon Musk himself replied cryptically toward a tweet sharing the video.

This comes after a similar "leaked" video of a purported "Twitter senior engineer" went viral Monday night under similar circumstances, which also came from Veritas.

Project Veritas, which has released factually dubious videos in the past, often records undercover footage of targeted people and institutions with the goal of exposing unflattering behavior. The group, which is mostly funded through a secretive charitable fund backed by the Koch brothers, has come under legal scrutiny in the past and been accused of harassment and "gotcha" journalism.

At the moment, Musk’s purchase of Twitter is suspended pending a review of the number of bots on the platform, which Musk wants to know for sure is less than five percent. Many speculate that Musk is using this issue as an excuse to delay the purchase, with the intent of either backing out entirely or renegotiating more favorable terms.


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Comments 8 total

SSmotzer

Whoa whoa whoa, you're telling me it was conservatives making the fake news all along?

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*sigh*

That entire article and your only retort is to say "oh well I guess it's all just made up!"

Like bro, what?

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SSmotzer

Project Veritas has staged everyone of their previous "undercover journalism stings" but this one is different how?

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*sigh*

Proof? They've been sued multiple times and, from what I recall, only lost one on a technicality, so I'm not sure where you're getting that from. Unless you're implying that these people who are high up in the ranks of these massive corporations are just intentionally spilling internal company secrets for some kind of mysterious gain by making the company they look for look bad?

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