Claim: US President Donald Trump invited Elon Musk on stage and said that the ban on X will soon be lifted in all the countries where the platform is currently banned.
Fact: The claim is false. Trump did not make any statements regarding lifting bans on X.
On 20 January, X user @MShehzadSpeaks, shared a video (archive) of Trump and Elon Musk, writing, “ٹرمپ کا بڑا اعلان 🚨
ٹرمپ نے ایلان مسک کو سٹیج پہ بلایا اور ایک پیغام دیا کہ جدھر جدھر ٹویٹر ایکس بین ہے ان کو جلد ان بین کیا جائے گا 🔥”
[Translation: Trump’s big announcement 🚨
Trump called Elon Musk on stage and gave a message that wherever Twitter is banned, it will be unbanned soon 🔥]
Donald Trump and Elon Musk
Donald J Trump entered politics in 2015 and won the 2016 US Presidential Election on his first run for office. After his initial term, he returned to the political arena, winning the 2024 Presidential Election to become the 47th president.
SpaceX CEO Elon Musk and Trump have fostered a close relationship, which was evident throughout the presidential inauguration with the US President endorsing Musk’s long-standing dream of getting humans to Mars, reported the Associated Press. The report further stated that, throughout the inauguration events, Musk praised Trump, referring to his second term as ushering in a “golden age” for the country.
According to Forbes, Musk contributed $200 million to a pro-Trump political action committee. He has since maintained regular contact with the president, attending meetings and working on key initiatives like the newly established Department of Government Efficiency.
Fact or Fiction?
While the captions of the viral posts claim that Trump called for lifting the ban on X in countries where it is banned, the accompanying video does not feature such remarks.
To investigate, we reverse-searched keyframes of the viral video and found the complete footage posted by ABC News on 20 January. The video, titled “Elon Musk joins Donald Trump at Victory Rally on day before inauguration”, features Trump and Musk on the eve of the presidential inauguration.
The video begins with the US President announcing the creation of a new Department of Government Efficiency that will be headed by Elon Musk.
The viral clip is taken from 0:36 onwards when Musk appears on stage with his son. While addressing the crowd, Trump says, “Did you see his rocket yesterday? It was captured, and X is with him. X. Come on, say a couple of words.”
Trump then steps away from the podium and Musk begins by thanking Trump. Referring to his son, Musk adds, “Sorry, little X just followed me on stage here. He’s a very enthusiastic supporter, as you can see.”
He goes on to say, “So we’re looking forward to a lot of changes, and this victory is just the beginning. What matters going forward is making significant changes, cementing those changes, and laying the foundation for America to remain strong for centuries, forever. So… make America great again, yeah. Um, yeah, so anyway, we’re going to do great things here. Thank you.” Musk then exits the stage, and Trump returns to the podium.
In the next few minutes, Trump continues to praise the X owner for his intelligence, makes mention of the rockets, how Musk campaigned for him in Pennsylvania, and expresses his gratitude to the SpaceX CEO for their landslide victory in the state. However, at no point in the video does Trump deliver a message about unbanning X in the countries where it is currently banned.
We reviewed other footage from the inaugural eve and the parade but did not find any instances of the US President announcing to unban the application in countries where it is banned.
A keyword search regarding the claim did not yield any results either. Soch Fact Check, therefore, concludes the claim is false.
Virality
The claim was shared widely by PTI supporters across social media platforms.
It was shared here, here, here, and here on Facebook. Archived here, here, here, and here.
On X, it was shared here, here, here, here, and here. Archived here, here, here, here, and here.
It was also shared here on Threads.
Conclusion: The claim is false. Trump did not deliver any message to Elon Musk about lifting the ban on X in countries where it is currently banned.
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Background image in cover photo: WTX News/US News
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