Video of Rachel Maddow breaking down while reporting on Musk meme is not genuine
The video is not genuine as was created as a meme response to Musk’s comments about buying MSNBC.
CLAIM
Footage posted to YouTube purported to show MSNBC host Rachel Maddow breaking down on air as she reported on an X post by Elon Musk in which he speculated about buying the news network.
BACKGROUND
Elon Musk began teasing a potential purchase of the media outlet MSNBC over the weekend, after news reports emerged that the owner Comcast would be splitting some of NBC’s cable TV networks into a new company.
The possibility of Musk buying the network became a joke among some prominent conservative commentators, with Donald Trump Jr. tagging Musk in a post on Friday, November 22, about the story. Over a post claiming “Comcast is putting MSNBC up for sale”, Trump wrote: “Hey @elonmusk I have the funniest idea ever!!!”
Musk replied: “How much does it cost?”
In a later post on November 24, Musk shared a lewd cartoon showing a Christian monk praying while a woman kneeled nearby with her skirt up around her waist. She was represented as MSNBC, while the monk was “Elon Musk trying not to buy”. He posted it with the caption: “And lead us not into temptation…”
A video shared to YouTube afterwards appeared to show Rachel Maddow of MSNBC breaking down during a news report about the post by Musk. In it, she is seen in studio while a chyron in the lower part of the screen says: “Breaking News: Elon Musk posts dangerous meme.”
In the video, Maddow says “to at least three…” before breaking down again, and then asks producers: “Can we put up the graphic of this?”
METHOD
The footage on YouTube features a credit in the top-right corner to @ALX, who we were able to find on X.
Upon scrolling through his account, which has more than 860,000 followers, we were able to find the video posted as a quote post over Elon Musk’s meme.
In his caption, @ALX wrote: “Soon”. Beneath the post, the uploader wrote: “Guys — it’s a meme.”
This confirms that the video is not genuine and was created for entertainment purposes.
However, we were also able to find the original video that saw Rachel Maddow break down while presenting on a story in 2018. The story involved children being separated from their parents at the southern U.S. border during Donald Trump’s first presidency.
It was picked up by The Guardian, where it is still available to view on the outlet’s YouTube account.
RATING
The video is not genuine as was created as a meme response to Musk’s comments about buying MSNBC.
SOURCES
X (formerly Twitter). (2024). Available at: Hey @elonmusk I have the funniest idea ever!!! [Accessed 26 Nov. 2024].
X (formerly Twitter). (2024). Available at: And lead us not into temptation… [Accessed 26 Nov. 2024].
YouTube (2024). Maddow On Musk Meme. [online] YouTube. [Accessed 26 Nov. 2024].
X (formerly Twitter). (2024). Available at: Soon [Accessed 26 Nov. 2024].
Maddow, R. (2018). Rachel Maddow breaks down during report on ‘tender age’ shelters. [online] YouTube. [Accessed 26 Nov. 2024].