‘There’s a Lot of Money in Bullsh*t’: CNN’s Donie O’Sullivan Explains Prevalence of Conspiracy Theories on Musk’s Platform

CNN correspondent Donie O’Sullivan joined anchor Jake Tapper on Monday to discuss the impact of Elon Musk reinstating far-right conspiracy theorist Alex Jones on X/Twitter.

“Since Alex Jones’s account has been restored, now, it’s not just up there. It’s actively being promoted across the platform,” Tapper noted after a lengthening introduction.

“A lot of people have been saying that indeed, the algorithmic feed ad that promotes accounts suggesting to people that they should follow Jones’s account, that is, of course, five years after he was initially kicked off the platform,” O’Sullivan replied, adding:

And really, you know, I think this is just so illustrative of what we are seeing happen with X, but also with Elon Musk as he kind of journeys very publicly down this rabbit hole of conspiracy theories, Jake.

Tapper noted that Musk is actively promoting Jones on the platform.

“He didn’t just bring this account back,” he said. “He’s playing a role in elevating Alex Jones’s account. Last night he hosted this week’s Live Stream interview with him and a whole bunch of other questionable folks were joining him. Andrew Tate, this misogynistic Internet personality who was indicted on human trafficking and rape charges in Romania, earlier this year. And to be completely frank, Donie, Tate wasn’t even the worst dude in that conversation. Why is Musk even engaging with these people?”

O’Sullivan replied by recapping some of the extreme personalities in the live stream and Musk’s past disavowal of Jones.

“But, you know, I’ve spent a lot of the past few years speaking to people who have gone down rabbit holes of radicalization and conspiracy theories and speaking to families who have lost loved ones and it is quite reminiscent of that when you see that, of course,” He continued, adding:

But in this case, it is one of the most powerful and one of the wealthiest men in the world. And he’s promoting these people. And I will just say that that audio stream you mentioned on last check, it had 11 million people, 11 million listeners. Now, of course, numbers online can be a little deceiving, but needless to say, millions of people now have access to this junk.

Tapper then asked about the business dynamics at play for Musk, “Is he trying to chase advertisers away even more than he already has?”

“Yeah, I mean, I think the conventional wisdom here would say, you know, this is going to push advertisers away,” O’Sullivan replied, adding:

It certainly is going to be very interesting what major brands like, including the NFL, are going to do as this platform continues to seemingly descend. But let’s not forget, there is a lot of money and bullshit as well, right? I mean, we saw it through the Alex Jones trial, how he made a lot of money. And if you really tap into this world, along with Tucker Carlson and General Michael Flynn and other people who who are taking kind of part now in this new X community that can potentially be quite lucrative and potentially that’s the direction Musk wants to go.

“A lot of money and a lot of votes,” Tapper replied before moving on.

Watch the full clip above via CNN.