An old conspiracy that recirculated claiming Elon Musk has been using a long-suspected X alias, Adrian Dittmann, led to a journalist getting restricted on the site this weekend.
The accusation that Musk uses Dittmann as an alt online has been pushed for years.
But, the alias speculation ramped up last week following a spat between MAGA influencer Laura Loomer and Musk after the tech CEO came out in support of H-1B visas.
In a Twitter space, Loomer feuded with Dittmann in the wake of her X account getting restricted after she insulted Musk.
Then, in a Fortnite clip shared on the site, Dittmann and another player, ConnorEatsPants, discussed the backlash Musk experienced as a result of his support for H-1B visas.
Dittmann consistently uses his account to praise Musk, publishing a compilation of Musk’s greatest moments on his 53rd birthday, and complaining when Time snubbed Musk on its list of 100 most influential people in AI.
But Dittmann is, according to himself, a German entrepreneur who launched several businesses in Fiji.
On an X Space event, the two poked fun at their accent similar accents, with Dittmann being dubbed an “Elon impersonator.”
While chatting on the X Space, Dittmann explained his accent and background. He said, “I grew up in Gibraltar (and) lived in Morocco for a few years.”
When asked where he lived, he said, “I can tell you I’m in Oceania.”
Despite these interactions, many users chose to believe Dittmann was in fact a persona of Musk’s, who admitted to having alt account on the site.
Instances where Dittmann supposedly “messed up” include when Dittmann referred to Musk as “I” and when Dittmann praised Musk for being a wonderful father, posting on X, “Your kids are very lucky to have you.”
Speculation continued to grow after a screenshotted 4chan post appeared to show Dittmann has “admin privileges” on X.
In the screenshot, the X interface includes links to an “Admin Portal” and a “Bans” page. However, this interface has since been debunked by the Verge, who spoke to people at X and confirmed it was fake.
Debunking the speculation, journalist Jacqueline Sweet worked with hacktivists Maia Arson Crimew and Ryan Fae to investigate the true identity of Dittmann.
In the Spectator this Saturday, they published a detailed account of findings which suggested Dittmann is, like he said, a real person.
Using social media analysis, as well as AI comparisons and government video footage, the authors successfully verified Dittmann’s identity as a German entrepreneur living in Fiji.
But, Sweet's investigation, seeming to exonerate Musk, wound up causing even more backlash.
Since the publication of the investigation, Sweet has had her X account restricted, and posts promoting the Spectator article have been limited.
Responding directly to Sweet, Musk posted, “I am Adrian Dittmann. It’s time the world knew.”
The original tweet Sweet made is no longer available, removed for “violating the X Rules.”
Some have speculated this is due to Sweet “doxing” Dittmann, highlighting how Twitter previously restricted pieces that may include personal information.
Others, however, claim this is an attempt at censorship, though it is unclear what Musk might be attempting to censor.
Weirdly, Loomer, who kicked it all off last week, has her own history with Sweet, going after her background after Sweet published reporting on former congressman George Santos.
One of the journalists behind the story, Fae, told the Daily Dot that the restrictions of their post were "laughable."
"It's laughable, really. My colleagues and I received a 30-day suspension from X for writing two pieces about a guy with his government name as his username. Our pieces and an archived link to one of them were further blocked from being posted, and already-posted links were marked possibly unsafe," Fae said. "I'm not sure what Musk and his X are trying to do here."
Fae said the restriction helped the article grow its readership.
"We had a sis-hour spike in readership for that article following the ban from X."
And one person on X who seems to support the reporting? Adrian Dittmann, who posted simply, “I am Adrian Dittmann.”
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