Global Moment of Solidarity Opposes Attacks on USAID by Elon Musk

The campaign to prevent the destruction of USAID by Donald Trump and Elon Musk gathered momentum today, Sunday 9th February, with what was called a Global Moment of Solidarity. The effect was a co-ordinated series of posts across different social media platforms, which answered criticisms levelled at USAID by Musk – comments by the recently appointed co-head of the "Department of Government Efficiency" (DOGE) that are generally considered reckless, inaccurate and completely misleading.

In a series of 160 posts on the X platform he owns, Musk claimed that USAID is "a viper's nest if radical-left marxists who hate America", adding that the organisation is "evil" and "a criminal oprganization."

"Tile for it to die," he added.

"Most of Musk’s more than 160 posts about USAID have been responses to a handful of small but influential verified accounts (on X), many of them using pseudonyms," an NBC report stated. "The most popular — including posts from Wall Street Apes, Kanekoa the Great, Chief Nerd and Autism Capital — have been viewed hundreds of millions of times, amplified by Musk and his 216 million followers, according to X metrics. As the theories spread, they are repackaged, and in many cases added upon, to further the claims.

"A review of the accounts’ profiles reveals how a lengthy crusade to paint USAID as a malevolent force built up in recent years in relatively fringe internet circles, only to be suddenly elevated and acted upon by Musk."

Most objective observers are appalled at the clear conflict of interest involved, where Musk can make outrageous, unsubstantiated claims about USAID, sack thousands of staff – and then use X as a platform to amplify and spread what most people see as old-fashioned lies and disinformation.

Musk recently performed a Nazi salute not once but twice – confirming that he knew exactly what he was doing – at a Presidential inauguration event.

Hundreds of USAID contractors have already been placed on unpaid leave and others have had their work terminated. Staffers at the organisation were instructed to stay away from their place of employment.

The Global Moment of Solidarity campaign was relatively careful and considered in its response, given the appallingly real and immediate loss of resources and jobs which have been occasioned by Musk and Trump – carried out in a manner that many believe to be completely illegal.

Posts have been appearing in different forms that make the following points:

"Elon Musk reportedly spent $40 million dollars on #Superbowl ads calling #USAID wasteful. Here are just a few ways we would’ve spent $40M:

– Purchased life-saving HIV treatment from American pharmaceutical companies to keep 1,060,000 million people alive for one year

– Bought enough emergency food-aid products made in Georgia and Rhode Island to treat 880,000 severely malnourished children

– Slowed the flow of migrants to our borders by providing job training and support to 50,000 people in Central America

– Protected 30,000,000 football fields of tropical forest in Africa, preventing China and Russia from exploiting timber and critical minerals that fuel our world

– Shipped the 29,000 metric tons of American food products worth $40 million on American ships instead of letting it waste away in a Texas warehouse

– Saved the lives of 25 million children suffering from severe malaria. We think this one has value on its own but maybe Musk would disagree

This Superbowl Sunday, tell Congress to #saveforeignaid and #standwithUSAID."

The question now is: will the Demobrats start to get their act together? And might the courts prevent the attempt to dismantle USAID from going ahead until congress has the opportunity to vote on any and all of hte relevant issues?

The answer right now is: we'll see...