“Elon Musk is abusing his privileged position as owner of a… politically influential social media platform to sow disinformation that generates discord and distrust,” noted Center for Countering Digital Hate’s chief executive Imran Ahmed in August this year, flagging a growing concern against X. Just last month Reporters Without Borders (RSF) took the social media platform to French courts for being a complicit “in disseminating false information, misrepresentation and identity theft”, doubling down on the scrutiny on Elon Musk’s role in all of this. But if you ask Joe Rogan, he will definitely disagree, which is exactly what he did, prompting the community to hit back heavily…

On Episode #2235 of the Joe Rogan Experience podcast, he welcomed Discovery Channel host Mike Rowe. At one point, the duo embarked on a conversation about the authenticity in media, and how teleprompters have largely taken away from it.

Rowe noted, “You think about the anchor who just wants to be believed, the spokesman who just wants to be seen as credible, the politician who just wants it. So, it’s like they want to be authentic and yet they do the single most inauthentic thing you can possibly do, which is pretend to not read a thing that everyone can see you’re reading. So the cognitive dissonance is rich.”

This prompted the UFC color commentator to go off on a fiery tirade against traditional journalism, as he stated, “What’s interesting about social media…like there’s this giant resistance right now to the idea that X is the new source of the world. They’re the mainstream. It’s the new source of the world. You and these people that want to cling to authority and say, ‘No, you’re not’, you’re not a journalist. You [mainstream media] guys f****d us too many times, and we don’t believe you anymore. So, the only way for us to find out what’s real and what’s not real is someone posts it online and then everybody looks at it and then you get the Community notes.”

Truth be told, Rogan’s support of Musk is not unexpected. The two have become ideologically and politically closer owing to a shared fondness for Donald Trump—the podcaster had also heavily appreciated his new friend while declaring his allegiance to Trump after years of opposition. “If it wasn’t for him we’d be f***ed,” Rogan had posted on X about Musk, and added, “He makes what I think is the most compelling case for Trump you’ll hear, and I agree with him every step of the way.” 

Having said that, during JRE’s Episode #2235, Rogan also took a direct dig at the New York Times. “That’s way better than the New York Times telling me that the Froot Loops in Canada are exactly the same as the Froot Loops in America, except for a bunch of sh*t: That’s banned and that’s the whole point of the whole fu***ng thing. But meanwhile they’re fact-checking RFK Jr, so now I don’t trust you anymore either.”

“[Twitter is] the solution to this thing that we’re trying to figure out; how we know what’s true and what’s not true. You get a consensus, there’s enough people that actually can read scientific papers there’s enough people that know the field that’s being discussed or you’re going to get, out of the hundreds of millions of people on X, you’re going to get an expert who’s going to say, ‘This is why this is incorrect and this is how you’re supposed to read it’, and then everybody goes, ‘Oh okay. This is wrong’.”

But Rogan didn’t exactly stop there, taking to X to share the snippet of the conversation, with the caption, “X is the most reliable, and most popular news source in the world.”

Notably, this is in direct contrast with what went down during the recently concluded US elections. Case in point: As per France 24, false or misleading US election claims made by Elon Musk on X were viewed a staggering 1.2 billion times this year. CCDH flagged no less than 50 posts from the X-owner (who has over 206 million followers on the platform) since January with election claims, that were later debunked by independent fact-checkers. The kicker?

None of these 50 posts had the “Community Note” option that Rogan and Rowe talked about. “The lack of Community Notes on these posts shows that his business is failing woefully to contain the kind of algorithmically-boosted incitement that we all know can lead to real-world violence,” the CCDH’s chief executive had said.

One of the posts shared by Musk also contained a deepfake video of Trump’s Democratic rival, Vice President Kamala Harris, calling Joe Biden “senile” and that he doesn’t “know the first thing about running the country”. Though the business mogul later clarified that the video was meant to be satire, critics were far from pleased. France 24 even went on to call Musk an “election misinformation super-spreader on X”. But don’t worry, there’s also light at the end of the tunnel.

The Gies School of Business in Champaign, Illinois, published a research paper barely two weeks ago, that supported the notion of Community Notes being a robust tool for curbing misinformation. “The data showed that X users were more willing to retract their tweets in response to notes. This finding is strikingly promising for social media platforms because users’ voluntary retraction, in contrast to forcible content removal, may face less criticism for infringing on freedom of speech, reduce polarization…In other words, crowdchecking, like Community Notes, strikes a balance between protecting First Amendment rights and the urgent need to curb misinformation.”

Rogan has long positioned himself as a crusader against biased reporting. He has frequently criticized major outlets like CNN and The New York Times for what he sees as slanted narratives and selective truths. But it appears that not everyone is buying into Rogan’s claims. Fans took to social media to express their thoughts and here’s a look at what the netizens had to say!

Fans fire off against Joe Rogan as his support for Elon Musk’s X lands him in hot water

Joe Rogan’s comments come at a time when Elon Musk’s efforts to position X as a hub for unfiltered information have sparked widespread debate. While supporters hail it as a step towards free speech, for some fans, Rogan’s support for the platform has led them to proclaim him as a “sellout”.

For fans who once admired his rebellious spirit, his apparent embrace of X feels like a betrayal, with one writing, “Lol dude went from being a free thinker to a cult follower”. But Rogan’s alignment with Musk didn’t start here. He recently also joked about taking over Rachel Maddow’s job if Musk were to acquire MSNBC as he stated on social media. 

A once beloved figure in the online media landscape, the JRE host has most of his established fanbase divided down the middle. With Rogan’s support for Musk’s platform, some fans didn’t hold back against the JRE host, as they claimed they weren’t on board for his crusade against traditional media. “Lost all the respect I had for Rogan,” one fan comment read.

Others expressed doubts on its ability to serve as a trustworthy alternative for news, with one X user writing, “It’s full of bots pushing propaganda”. Since rebranding the platform to X, Musk’s efforts to eliminate bots have faced challenges. One controversial solution has been the introduction of premium accounts, offering a verification badge for $8 a month. Critics have argued this approach is flawed, as it allows bad actors to purchase verification and deceive other users. 

While Rogan’s enthusiasm for X aligns with his disdain for mainstream outlets, it raises questions about his objectivity for some fans. Is he genuinely endorsing the platform as a better alternative, or is he swept up in Musk’s ambitious vision, is what fans wondered. But the recurring theme of dissatisfaction was clear in reply to Joe Rogan’s post: “Joe Rogan bending the knee. Predictable.”

To wrap things up, according to the fans, Joe Rogan’s shift feels like a departure from the independent thinker they once admired. Accusations of him “selling out” or becoming a follower of Musk’s ambitions dominate the online discourse, are becoming a frequent talking point among fans.

As Rogan maintains his critiques of mainstream media, with his vocal support for X raising questions among fans, will his stance strengthen his role as a media critic, or leave his audience questioning his authenticity? What’s your take on the JRE host’s latest move? Let us know in the comments below!