Generate Key Takeaways
Claim:
A video authentically shows MSNBC TV host Rachel Maddow holding back tears on air over a meme about Elon Musk possibly buying the cable news network.
Rating:
Beginning in late November 2024, online users shared and discussed a video showing MSNBC TV host Rachel Maddow crying on-air. In the clip, Maddow attempted to hold back tears, purportedly after viewing a meme about tech entrepreneur Elon Musk considering purchase of the left-of-center cable news network.
Advertisement
Advertisement
In the video, Maddow says, "Can we put up the graphic of this?" The clip then displays a meme posted by Musk. Maddow continues speaking while trying not to cry. "I think I'm going to have to hand this off. Yeah, sorry. That does it for us tonight. We'll see you again tomorrow now." The chyron (headline) next to the MSNBC logo read, "Elon Musk Posts Dangerous Meme."
However, this rumor was not true. A user misleadingly edited an old video of Maddow holding back tears about a different subject. The user replaced a sensitive matter involving migrant babies and toddlers with the meme about Musk and MSNBC. Since this matter involved a deceptively edited clip, we have rated this claim as fake.
The meme's creator later clarified that the video was intended as a joke of a "meme," but many users shared it with captions suggesting they believed it had actually aired on MSNBC.
Conservative Users Believed Video Was Real
In one example of a user posting about the video, on Nov. 24, conservative host Mark Simone shared the clip on the website for the New York radio station 710 WOR (archived). His headline read, "Watch Rachel Maddow Break Down and Cry Over Elon Musk Buying MSNBC." He also posted the story on X (archived).
On TikTok, one user's post of the video received over 500,000 views. The post displayed the caption, "Rachel Maddow has a weird breakdown on-air. Her reaction to Elon meme of him buying MSNBC." The user who uploaded the clip also added a comment under the video indicating the user believed it was real: "Her reaction is sort of over the top to the meme but maybe it's a reality check that she may be out of a job. Her far left wing thinking won't work on an Elon owned new station. Like and repost."
Advertisement
Advertisement
As of the afternoon of Nov. 25, the TikTok user's account and video were inaccessible.
In other posts, an Instagram user claimed (archived), "Rachel Maddow BREAKS DOWN over Elon Musk meme." Similarly, a Facebook user shared (archived), "30 million dollar Rachal [sic] Maddow is crying because Elon may be her new boss." Users also circulated the video on Rumble and YouTube.
Maddow Cried About Child Migrants — Not Musk
On June 19, 2018, MSNBC broadcast live the original and unedited video showing Maddow holding back tears. During the clip, she read from a news story published by The Associated Press. The article's headline read, "At least 3 'tender age' shelters set up for child migrants." That story began, "Trump administration officials have been sending babies and other young children forcibly separated from their parents at the U.S.-Mexico border to at least three 'tender age' shelters in South Texas, The Associated Press has learned."
Rumor About Musk Buying MSNBC
The misleading clip showed a watermark for X user @alx, who posted it on Nov. 24 (archived). The post from @alx displayed on X as a repost response to Musk's own share of the meme (the image appearing in the edited video) from hours earlier (archived). The meme suggested Musk might be tempted to buy MSNBC.
As of Nov. 25, the idea of Musk seriously considering buying MSNBC was simply a rumor, including with posts containing thoughts from Donald Trump Jr., podcaster Joe Rogan and others. CNN, the New York Post and Vanity Fair reported it simply just amounted to "joking."
Sources:
Burke, Garance, and Martha Mendoza. "At Least 3 'Tender Age' Shelters Set up for Child Migrants." The Associated Press, 20 June 2018, https://apnews.com/article/north-america-us-news-ap-top-news-mi-state-wire-immigration-dc0c9a5134d14862ba7c7ad9a811160e.
Advertisement
Advertisement
Herchenroeder, Katie. "Elon Musk Muses About Buying MSNBC: 'How Much Does It Cost?'" Vanity Fair, 24 Nov. 2024, https://www.vanityfair.com/news/story/elon-musk-jokes-msnbc-purchase.
King, Ryan. Elon Musk Jokes about Buying MSNBC with Risqué Meme. 24 Nov. 2024, https://nypost.com/2024/11/24/us-news/elon-musk-jokes-about-buying-msnbc-using-a-very-bawdy-meme/.
"Rachel Maddow Breaks down during Report on 'tender Age' Shelters." YouTube, The Guardian, 19 June 2018, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DKuIjT-k-C8.
Stelter, Brian. "Elon Musk Floats Buying MSNBC, but He's Not the Only Billionaire Who May Be Interested | CNN Business." CNN, 25 Nov. 2024, https://www.cnn.com/2024/11/25/media/elon-musk-msnbc-spinoff-cable/index.html.
"Trump Officials Send Migrant Babies, Toddlers to 'tender Age' Shelters." NBC News via The Associated Press, 19 June 2018, https://www.nbcnews.com/storyline/immigration-border-crisis/trump-officials-send-migrant-babies-toddlers-tender-age-shelters-n884916.
