Election officials are outmatched by Elon Musk’s misinformation machineBy Zachary Cohen, Sean Lyngaas and Sara Murray, CNN 6 minute readUpdated 7:12 AM EDT, Thu October 31, 2024

SpaceX and Tesla CEO Elon Musk speaks at a town hall with Republican candidate for Senate Dave McCormick at the Roxain Theater in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, on October 20, 2024. 

Michael Swensen/Getty Images/File

CNN — 

Elon Musk’s misinformation megaphone has created a “huge problem” for election officials in key battleground states who told CNN they’re struggling to combat the wave of falsehoods coming from the tech billionaire and spreading wildly on his X platform.

Election officials in pivotal battleground states including Pennsylvania, Michigan and Arizona have all tried – and largely failed – to fact-check Musk in real time. At least one has tried passing along personal notes asking he stop spreading baseless claims likely to mislead voters.

“I’ve had my friends hand-deliver stuff to him,” said Stephen Richer, a top election official in Arizona’s Maricopa County, a Republican who has faced violent threats for saying the 2020 election was secure.