Elon Musk has not agreed to buy CNN for $3 billion

Context

On October 20, a Threads post (archived here) claimed Elon Musk promised to "Fix the media, one network at a time." It suggested that Elon Musk was reportedly eyeing the acquisition of CNN.

Two weeks later, on November 4, a satirical Facebook account stated he had agreed to buy the network for $3 billion, linking to an article by Science Techy as proof (archived here). However, the article offers no credible evidence to support the claim. 

Thousands of social media users reshared the article, and variants of it also appeared on other platforms, such as TikTok (archived here) and X (archived here). 

Neither CNN, Musk, nor any credible sources have confirmed such an agreement. 

In fact

A public relations representative of CNN told Logically Facts, "There is no truth in rumors of a sale or change in ownership of CNN whatsoever. Any statements to the contrary are completely false."

The claim originates from SpaceXMania (archived here), a page that describes itself as "your go-to source for the latest parody news and hilarious satirical commentary." The headline of the fake October 18 news story it published is similar to the claim in the aforementioned social media posts. However, unlike the posts, the story is labeled "satire."

Science Techy, which published a similar article on November 4, lacks any sources or credible references to support its assertions.

Elon Musk has not issued any statement to confirm this claim. There is also no evidence from credible financial news outlets, which would typically cover a transaction of this scale if it were legitimate. The absence of such coverage strongly indicates that the claim is unfounded.

The claim has been previously debunked by PolitiFact and USA Today, among others.  

The verdict

Elon Musk did not agree to purchase CNN for $3 billion. The claim is a satirical fabrication from a parody website, which CNN confirmed as false.