A major controversy erupted on social media platform Grok after former US President Donald Trump’s advisor Peter Navarro criticised Elon Musk’s platform for fact-checking a post made against India. Hours after the criticism, Musk responded and defended the impartiality of Community Notes. Musk, however, did not name Navarro nor address him directly.
He wrote, “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.”
The controversy started when Navarro, who has previously attacked India over its trade policies and its ties with Russia, again accused New Delhi of “profiteering” from Russian oil imports. He wrote, “FACTS: India highest tariffs costs US jobs. India buys Russian oil purely to profit/Revenues feed Russia war machine. Ukrainians/Russians die. U.S. taxpayers shell out more. India can’t handle truth/spins.”
X’s fact-checking notes debunked his claims, saying India’s purchases of Russian oil were for “energy security” and that the transactions “do not violate sanctions.” The notes further said, “While India has some tariffs, the US has a trade surplus with it in services. The US also continues to import certain commodities from Russia, which is hypocritical.” Another note added, “Navarro’s claims are hypocritical. India’s legal, sovereign purchases of Russian oil for energy security do not violate international law.”
X called it a “clear double standard” and pointed out that while the US is pressuring India over the oil trade, it is itself buying billions of dollars worth of commodities like uranium from Russia.
Navarro dismissed these fact-checking notes as “crap notes” and accused Elon Musk of promoting “propaganda” on X. He wrote in his response, “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.”
This development is another in Navarro’s ongoing criticism of India, especially after the Trump administration imposed secondary tariffs on India for buying oil from Russia. The US duties on Indian exports are over 50 per cent, the highest in Trump’s new list after Brazil. Shortly after these tariffs were implemented, Navarro referred to the Russia–Ukraine war as “Modi’s war” and alleged that India’s purchases of Russian oil were supporting Russia’s military actions. He also accused India of running a “profiteering scheme” and called it a “laundromat for the Kremlin”. He also made a racist remark against India.
A major controversy erupted on social media platform Grok after former US President Donald Trump’s advisor Peter Navarro criticised Elon Musk’s platform for fact-checking a post made against India. Hours after the criticism, Musk responded and defended the impartiality of Community Notes. Musk, however, did not name Navarro nor address him directly.
He wrote, “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.”
The controversy started when Navarro, who has previously attacked India over its trade policies and its ties with Russia, again accused New Delhi of “profiteering” from Russian oil imports. He wrote, “FACTS: India highest tariffs costs US jobs. India buys Russian oil purely to profit/Revenues feed Russia war machine. Ukrainians/Russians die. U.S. taxpayers shell out more. India can’t handle truth/spins.”
X’s fact-checking notes debunked his claims, saying India’s purchases of Russian oil were for “energy security” and that the transactions “do not violate sanctions.” The notes further said, “While India has some tariffs, the US has a trade surplus with it in services. The US also continues to import certain commodities from Russia, which is hypocritical.” Another note added, “Navarro’s claims are hypocritical. India’s legal, sovereign purchases of Russian oil for energy security do not violate international law.”
X called it a “clear double standard” and pointed out that while the US is pressuring India over the oil trade, it is itself buying billions of dollars worth of commodities like uranium from Russia.
Navarro dismissed these fact-checking notes as “crap notes” and accused Elon Musk of promoting “propaganda” on X. He wrote in his response, “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.”
This development is another in Navarro’s ongoing criticism of India, especially after the Trump administration imposed secondary tariffs on India for buying oil from Russia. The US duties on Indian exports are over 50 per cent, the highest in Trump’s new list after Brazil. Shortly after these tariffs were implemented, Navarro referred to the Russia–Ukraine war as “Modi’s war” and alleged that India’s purchases of Russian oil were supporting Russia’s military actions. He also accused India of running a “profiteering scheme” and called it a “laundromat for the Kremlin”. He also made a racist remark against India.
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