Elon Musk calls for charges against Anthony Fauci and attacks ex-Twitter security chief

Elon Musk told his 120 million Twitter followers on Sunday that Dr. Anthony Fauci should be prosecuted and echoed the talking points of far-right conspiracy theorists with whom he has increasingly allied on the platform.

“My pronouns are Prosecute/Fauci.” tweeted the new Twitter owner, whose message also mocked the use of pronouns.

The attack came as Fauci, the nation’s top immunologist, is preparing to step down from his role as overseer of the nation’s COVID-19 response. Fauci is director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases and has worked in public health for five decades.

Musk didn’t provide an explanation for his message, but it followed an earlier tweet in which he shared a meme mocking past coronavirus lockdowns. His tweet getting support by far-right Georgia Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R). Until his reactivation under Musk, Greene’s personal account had been permanently suspended from Twitter for spreading COVID-19 misinformation. She has also campaigned against transgender acceptance and equality.

Fauci has faced heavy backlash, including death threats for COVID-19 vaccine advocacy and social mandates, including the use of masks aimed at preventing the virus from spreading. More than 1 million people have died from the virus in the United States since the beginning of 2020.

Elon Musk, who bought Twitter in October, has increasingly fallen out with right-wing commentators like those opposed to Dr. Pronounce Anthony Fauci, allied.

Musk has increasingly aligned himself with right-wing commentators like those opposed to Fauci. After buying Twitter, he removed a company policy against the spread of COVID-19 misinformation and gave “amnesty” to users whose accounts had been suspended, including for posting hate speech and inciting violence. These accounts included neo-Nazis and former President Donald Trump, who was banned from the platform for using it to incite the attack on the US Capitol on January 6, 2021.

Musk’s attack on Fauci also comes amid weeks of turmoil at Twitter that have followed his takeover, including a mass brain drain, slower ad revenue, a spate of fake “verified” accounts and a study finding a rise in racial slurs on the site.

After the founding members of Twitter’s Trust and Safety Council resigned earlier this month, Musk hit back by accusing them of criminally refusing to take action against child exploitation. This is how a right-wing conspiracy theorist reacted saying the former employees “all belong in prison”. Former Twitter CEO Jack Dorsey responded directly, calling the allegations false.

Musk also baselessly accused former Twitter security chief Yoel Roth on Saturday of supporting the online sexualization of children.

Musk accused Roth, who resigned last month, of writing a doctoral thesis to advocate for children being able to use adult sites like Grindr. Thesis. according to a Excerpt of the diploma thesis Shared by Musk, Roth argued that young adults will continue to use the connection site even though it’s likely not safe or age-appropriate for them, and so more safeguards should be added for them.

Roth did not immediately respond to HuffPost’s request for comment.

Musk’s attack on Roth recalls an incident in 2018 in which the billionaire was sued after baselessly calling a British caver involved in the rescue of Thai children trapped in a cave a “pedo guy.” Musk argued in court that his comment, an apparent response to the researcher’s claim that Musk was only offering to help with the rescue as a “PR stunt,” was not to be taken literally.

Musk reportedly paid a private investigator $50,000 to search for compromising information about the discoverer.

The lawsuit against Musk was ultimately dismissed.