X owner and Tesla CEO Elon Musk has invited controversy, but a viral claim about him calling for a ban on pride flags started as satire.
“Elon Musk Declares: “Pride Flags Should Be Banned from Classrooms, Forever!” Following His Snub of Boxer Imane Khelif at the 2024 Olympics,” read a Sept. 30 Facebook post.
The post directed readers to an article that claimed “In a post on social media, Musk stated: ‘Classrooms are places for education, not political or ideological indoctrination. Pride flags and other symbols of this nature should be banned, forever.’”
(Screenshot of Facebook post)
The post was flagged as part of Meta’s efforts to combat false news and misinformation on its News Feed. (Read more about our partnership with Meta, which owns Facebook, Instagram and Threads.)
PolitiFact reviewed Nexis archives and found no news reports of Musk calling to ban pride flags from classrooms, nor does such a statement appear on Musk’s X account.
Although Musk has made newsworthy and controversial comments about LGBTQ+ issues and his own transgender daughter, this particular claim originated on SpaceX Fanclub, which has a Facebook page declaring, “We post SATIRE nothing on this page is real.” Its Sept. 4 post read, “Elon Musk Says: ‘Pride Flags Should Be Banned from Classrooms, Permanently!’ (Satire)” and linked in the comments to the satire site Esspots.com. The SpaceX post also included a watermark indicating it is “Rated Satire,” a disclaimer that did not appear on the Facebook post.
We have fact-checked several claims that originated on SpaceX Fanclub or Esspots and spread without any disclaimers. Other fact-checking outlets including Snopes, USA Today, and Check your Fact have also debunked similar posts.
The claim that Elon Musk called for pride flags to be banned in classrooms originated on a satire site. We rate this claim False.
Truth-o-meter Ruling
IF YOUR TIME IS SHORT
-
This claim originated on a satire website.
-
There is no evidence Musk called for pride flags in classrooms to be banned.
Statement
Context
a postSpeaker/Target
Statement Date
Our Sources
Facebook post (archived), Sept. 30, 2024
Facebook post (archived), Sept. 4. 2024
Esspots, "Elon Musk Says: "Pride Flags Should Be Banned from Classrooms, Permanently!" (archived), Sept. 5, 2024
USAStory, "Elon Musk Declares: "Pride Flags Should Be Banned from Classrooms, Forever!" Following His Snub of Boxer Imane Khelif at the 2024 Olympics," (archived), accessed Oct. 4, 2024
Facebook profile, https://www.facebook.com/SpaceX6683
USA Today, "Musk says estranged child's gender-affirming care sparked fight against 'woke mind virus'," July 22, 2024
NBC News, "Elon Musk’s new Twitter pronoun rule invites bullying, LGBTQ groups say," June 1, 2023
The Guardian, "JK Rowling and Elon Musk named in Imane Khelif cyberbullying lawsuit," Aug. 14, 2024
Business Insider, "Elon Musk spent the last 24 hours spreading increasingly unhinged anti-trans content," June 2, 2023
X search, ""pride flags" from:elonmusk," accessed Oct. 4, 2024
Check Your Fact, "FACT CHECK: Did Musk Call For Banning Pride Flags In Schools?," Sept. 12, 2024
USA Today, "Elon Musk called for ban on pride flag in schools? No, that's satire," Sept. 10, 2024
Snopes, "Elon Musk Said Pride Flags Should Be Banned From Classrooms?," Sept. 7, 2024
PolitiFact, "Satirical story about Candace Owens trying to ban Taylor Swift from the NFL spreads without context," June 25, 2024
PolitiFact, "Taylor Swift isn’t banned from upcoming NFL games (but maybe this zombie claim should be)," Sept. 26, 2024
PolitiFact, "Claims Elon Musk endorsed Caitlin Clark originated on satire site," Aug. 6, 2024
PolitiFact, "Taylor Swift did not lose a $125 million brand contract after endorsing Kamala Harris," Sept. 20, 2024
PolitiFact, "Claim that Elon Musk is funding ‘anti-woke’ show with Tucker Carlson is satire," Sept. 12, 2024
PolitiFact, "No, Steelers coach did not call Pride Month ‘woke crap.’ That claim started as satire," June 14, 2024
PolitiFact, "Not the real thing: Coca-Cola didn’t break ties with Taylor Swift after Kamala Harris endorsement," Sept. 18, 2024
PolitiFact, "No, Taylor Swift’s didn’t cancel Eras Tour shows after endorsing Kamala Harris," Sept. 18, 2024
PolitiFact, "No, Travis Kelce didn’t endorse Kamala Harris for president," Sept. 24, 2024
PolitiFact, "Jason Aldean didn’t refuse $500 million collaboration with Taylor Swift because her "music is woke"," Aug. 26, 2024
Translations
Language: en