OAN Owner Gets Shut Down Quick After Claiming Elon Musk May Buy His Network
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The owner of the struggling One America News Network (OAN) suggested on Thursday that Elon Musk was interested in purchasing the conservative news outlet.
But no one was buying it ― especially the Tesla mogul.
It all started when OAN bigwig Robert Herring posted a tweet claiming the network had just received a call from “somebody very close” to the billionaire and that “he would like to talk to us about purchasing” the network.
We just received a call from somebody very close to @elonmusk telling us that he would like to talk to us about purchasing @OANN.
— Robert Herring (@RobHerring) June 9, 2022
Many Twitter users were skeptical of Herring’s claims since OAN is prone to spreading disinformation to the point where it is being sued for bogus election fraud claims.
Oh, and there’s the nagging issue that the network would be a big financial risk for any buyer since DirecTV announced it was dropping the right-wing conspiracy pusher ― something Herring admitted in March could cause it to close its doors permanently.
big news for OAN's 19 viewers https://t.co/FvDruC9X1Q
— Aaron Rupar (@atrupar) June 9, 2022
Well, Musk's definitely got eight bucks in his pocket https://t.co/vInrKZPA93
— Liz Dye (@5DollarFeminist) June 9, 2022
That's so weird because I just received a call from somebody very close to @elonmusk telling me that he would like to talk to me about purchasing me Chipotle for lunch https://t.co/GFgKq0DiqF
— Max Steele (@maxasteele) June 9, 2022
Musk quickly let the air out of Herring’s “trial balloon” with just two words: “Only Twitter” ― although his interest in that platform changes from day to day.
Only Twitter
— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) June 9, 2022
Even though both Herring and Musk have been known to stretch the truth when it benefitted them, many Twitter users enjoyed the quick dismissal of the OAN mogul’s claim.
That De-escalated quickly https://t.co/UY3LPy8KRx
— Lee Stranahan 🇷🇺 (@stranahan) June 9, 2022
Priceless shut down 😂😂😂 (gotta give credit where credit is due) https://t.co/0FSp453dkQ
— Dr. Joy Henningsen (@JoyHenningsenMD) June 9, 2022
But that doesn’t mean Herring isn’t getting offers, after all, it is a buyer’s market.
Since Elon isn't interested, I'll give you $500 for @OANN. https://t.co/x2Yyi6IDg0
— Greg (@waltisfrozen) June 9, 2022
This article originally appeared on HuffPost and has been updated.