Elon Musk attends a news conference with President Donald Trump in the Oval Office of the White House (AP)
NEW DELHI: Elon Musk on Sunday defended X’s fact-checking system after Peter Navarro, an aide to former US President Donald Trump, criticised the platform for fact-checking his anti-India post. Musk said the platform is committed to community-driven narrative without directly addressing Navarro.Musk wrote on X, “On this platform, the people decide the narrative. You hear all sides of an argument. Community Notes corrects everyone, no exceptions. Notes, data, and code is public source. Grok provides further fact-checking.” Navarro posted anti-India content, criticising New Delhi’s Russian oil imports, but received fact-checking corrections on X that challenged his claims as hypocritical.His post read: “FACTS: India highest tariffs costs US jobs. India buys Russian oil purely to profit/Revenues feed Russia war machine. Ukrainians/Russians die. US taxpayers shell out more. India can’t handle truth/spins.”X’s fact-checking system highlighted that India’s oil purchases serve energy security needs and comply with sanctions. It noted the US-India trade surplus in services and pointed out America’s continued Russian imports. Additional fact-checking noted the legitimacy of India’s sovereign oil purchases and their compliance with international law.The platform highlighted the inconsistency in US criticism of India’s oil trade whilst maintaining its own Russian imports, including uranium.Navarro reacted negatively to the fact-checks, criticising Musk for allowing what he termed “propaganda” in posts. He wrote: “Wow. @elonmusk is letting propaganda into people’s posts. That crap note below is just that. Crap. India buys Russian oil solely to profiteer. It didn’t buy any before Russia invaded Ukraine. Indian govt spin machine moving high tilt. Stop killing Ukrainians. Stop taking American jobs.”Navarro has consistently criticised India, particularly following Trump’s implementation of secondary tariffs exceeding 50 per cent on Indian exports. He termed the Russia-Ukraine conflict as “Modi’s war”, suggesting India’s Russian oil purchases support Moscow’s military actions. He also described India as a “laundromat for the Kremlin” and made discriminatory remarks about caste.
