Musk alleges Reuters received millions in ‘mysterious’ US payments

Elon Musk accused the Reuters news agency of receiving millions of dollars from the U.S. government on Thursday for what he termed a “large-scale social deception” between 2018 and 2022.

The tech billionaire, posting on his social media platform X, cited data from a government spending tracking website that allegedly showed the Department of Defense made $9 million in payments to Reuters during this period.

“Reuters was paid millions by the U.S. government for ‘large-scale social deception.’ They are complete fraudsters,” Musk wrote.

The claims emerged from what Musk described as investigations by the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE), which he oversees. The spending, officially categorized as defense-related expenditures, has raised questions about its purpose, according to the posts.

In separate allegations, Musk amplified claims from media outlet Public regarding the Organized Crime and Corruption Reporting Project (OCCRP).

Report suggest CIA managed OCCRP funded with $47M by the US

The report suggested that OCCRP, which reportedly received $47 million in U.S. government funding since its founding, played a significant role in developing narratives about Trump and associates’ alleged connections to Russian banking and money laundering operations. The organization is allegedly managed by the CIA and USAID, according to the claims.

Musk also criticized U.S. District Judge John Bates, who temporarily blocked a Trump administration directive to remove certain data from federal public health agency websites.

Sharing a photo of Matthew Perna, who died by suicide during the January 6 prosecution process, Musk called for the judge’s removal. Bates had prevented the deletion of information including HIV testing data, disease prevention details, and climate vulnerability assessments.

OCCRP is known for bringing major investigative projects to global attention, including the Panama Papers and Pandora Papers.

The 2016 Panama Papers leak, involving 11.5 million documents from Panamanian law firm Mossack Fonseca, triggered corruption investigations in multiple countries and led to high-profile resignations.