On May 11, 2024, a SpaceX Fan Club Facebook page published a photo with the headline that Tesla founder and X owner Elon Musk had pulled $250 million in funding from Scouting America (formerly the Boys Scouts of America) because he opposed the organization being “woke.”
(Screen capture)
The post has garnered 3,100 reactions and 1,500 comments as of this writing, with many commenters supporting Musk's actions. “Well done, patriot,” one person wrote. “He did the right thing,” another wrote.
A pinned comment on the post linked to an article on Esspots.com and said:
BREAKING: Elon Musk withdraws $250 million in funding from the Boy Scouts, “They've woken up”
Tech mogul Elon Musk is notorious for his outlandish ideas like space travel and electric cars, but lately he's been making headlines for his more down-to-earth choices. Celebrity donations have been crucial to the success of Scouting America, formerly known as the Boy Scouts of America. Musk had previously pledged $250 million to the organization to fund scouting programs nationwide. His shocking announcement that he was withdrawing his support came as a defence, citing the group's embrace of “woke” values.
The article is not a factual recounting of actual events. Esspots.com describes the article as humorous or satirical in nature:
Welcome to Esspots.com, a website dedicated to satire, parody and humor. Before you continue reading the content, we want to emphasize that there is nothing real about this website. All articles, stories and commentaries found on Esspots.com are completely fictional and are created for entertainment purposes only.
Since the Boy Scouts of America changed its name to Scouting America, we've reported on a variety of satirical posts, including one about actor Vin Diesel and one claiming the Scout Oath had been changed to remove the word “God.”
By way of background, here's why we sometimes write about satire and humor:
