Elon runs a-‘mock’

CNN spoof breaks Musk-era Twitter parody rule

Twitter overlord Elon Musk seems to have violated his own rules about posting satirical content without a disclaimer, only to laugh off his fake news as a jab at CNN.

Musk trolled the cable news network Monday by posting a Photoshopped image of anchor Don Lemon with the phony headline: “CNN: Elon Musk could threaten free speech on Twitter by literally allowing people to speak freely.”

The image put Lemon next to a stock photo of Musk with a chyron that repeats the headline.

Twitter users immediately added a disclaimer to Musk’s tweet, noting that the CNN story wasn’t real.

“The screencap in this image is not real and originated from a satirical website,” the disclaimer read.

CNN’s public relations account replied to the post with a screenshot of the tweet and a pop-up noting it violated the site’s rules.

“This headline never appeared on CNN. Be better,” @CNNPR responded.

Musk brushed off CNN, tweeting: “Lmaoooo.”

While most users understood Musk’s tweet was a joke, some appeared to believe the image came from a genuine CNN broadcast.

A Facebook post sharing just the headline and image received more than 1,000 likes and shares, with commenters criticizing CNN for apparently running the report.

“Makes total sense . . . to CNN. Doesn’t matter much if you check CNN’s ratings,” one user wrote.

A Twitter user sharing the headline and image simply put the caption, “Wait… WHAT?!?,” receiving more than 4,000 shares and 10,000 likes.

After taking over Twitter, Musk rolled out a plan whereby users who pay $8 a month could get a verified blue check. But chaos ensued when impersonaters used the verification to pose as celebrities and corporations — with many mocking Musk.

Musk was forced to pause the rollout and started banning users who impersonated him.

He then announced that handles could only pretend to be someone else if they were clearly labeled as parody accounts.