Elon Musk spends a lot of his time reposting and replying to social media posts on X, typically with single phrase feedback like “wow,” “reality” or “attention-grabbing.”
Musk’s clout because the proprietor of X and its most influential consumer signifies that the posts he interacts with have a tendency to achieve widespread consideration, typically reaching at the very least 1,000,000 views.
One account stands out — run by Australian crypto entrepreneur Mario Nawfal. NPR’s overview of Musk’s X timeline exhibits that Musk interacted with Nawfal’s account over 1,200 instances between August 2024 and early April 2025.
Though it is a small fraction of all of Musk’s actions on X, the 2 work together on a near-daily foundation, far outstripping different in style accounts Musk reposts and replies to.
Highly effective individuals, together with international leaders, appear to be taking be aware. Since Jan. 20, when Musk turn into an advisor to President Trump, Nawfal has posted lengthy interviews on YouTube with 5 prime ministers and presidents, in addition to the Russian international minister.
“A spread of political actors clearly see Nawfal not solely as a helpful amplifier, but additionally as a direct bridge to Elon Musk and the White Home,” stated Emerson Brooking, a researcher on the Atlantic Council’s Digital Forensic Analysis Lab. “If Nawfal is sharing a narrative, there is a good likelihood that U.S. policymakers are studying it — and performing on it.”
Nawfal says he desires to make use of his entry to world leaders to bridge divides. “There’s simply so many extra similarities between Moscow and New York or between Beijing and London,” he informed NPR in an interview. Nawfal additionally stated he hopes the publicity will convey extra offers to his firm.
Generally, Nawfal’s posts bounce by way of Musk into President Trump’s feed. In February, Nawfal repeated a false declare in a week-old put up accusing the information outlet Reuters of partaking in “giant scale social deception”. The put up refers to a Protection Division contract involving a distinct firm that shares a mum or dad with Reuters — not the information company. Musk reposted it inside minutes after which President Trump repeated the false declare the subsequent day.
“Nawfal is the prime instance of reports brokering,” stated Mert Can Bayar, a postdoctoral researcher at College of Washington. Bayar has studied the rise of a brand new technology of news-focused influencers on X since Musk purchased the platform in 2022, who’re taking each content material and limelight from newsrooms throughout main breaking information occasions.
X and Musk didn’t reply to requests for remark for this story.
Rising in instances of disaster
Earlier than changing into a information influencer on X, Nawfal launched a crypto incubator, which he nonetheless runs, and hosted exhibits centered on the ups and downs of the crypto world.
Nawfal and Musk seem to have first crossed paths publicly in November 2022, when Musk joined an X stay audio speak — known as an X Area — Nawfal was internet hosting in regards to the collapse of cryptocurrency alternate FTX. With Musk’s look and Nawfal’s heavy promotion, Nawfal’s follower rely swelled by tens of 1000’s.
Nawfal stated he first seen the ability of speaking about information on X when he hosted an audio discuss a missile explosion in Poland close to the Ukrainian border on the finish of 2022. “Out of the blue plenty of non-crypto individuals got here in and began listening. And that is after I realized that, hey, this has much more potential past simply crypto,” he stated.
Nawfal stated he now has a staff that writes over 100 posts on X a day and works across the clock.
When Nawfal posted about Wagner chief Yevgeny Prigozhin’s coup try towards Russian President Vladimir Putin in the summertime of 2023, Musk posted: “Greatest protection of the state of affairs I’ve seen up to now is from Mario” and promoted Nawfal’s X Area on the subject. Nawfal’s following grew by over 300,000 in a single day — an over 50% enhance in his follower rely on the time.
Within the aftermath of Hamas’s assault on Israel in Oct. 7, 2023, the six information organizations who gained probably the most site visitors on X nonetheless had fewer mixed views than Nawfal alone, and Nawfal wasn’t even the highest influencer on the time, stated Bayar, the UW researcher.
“It is a paradise for (the information brokers) as a result of they do not do any screening,” Bayar stated. “To allow them to tweet plenty of issues in 10 minutes.”
Nawfal stated it isn’t his staff’s job to vet posts for accuracy. “Do we all know if there’s actual tunnels below a sure hospital? Do we all know if the troopers are within the hospital? How the hell can I do know? It is inconceivable to know. Even when I had a reporter on the bottom, they most likely would not have the ability to discover out the reality,” he informed NPR. “So the best way we would be able to determine the reality is like, let’s have a look at what each side are saying.”
Israel has largely barred reporters from Gaza since its warfare there.
‘Taking a stance’ on U.S. politics
Because the U.S. presidential election heated up in 2024, Nawfal interviewed distinguished conservatives, together with individuals who have gone on to hitch the present Trump administration, resembling Federal Communications Fee chair Brendan Carr in August, Director of Nationwide Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard and Well being and Human Companies Secretary Robert F Kennedy Jr in September. Lots of them, like Musk, allege that conservative voices have been unfairly censored by social media firms and different establishments.
“I was balanced on every thing, and now I’ve taken a couple of stances,” Nawfal stated. “Free speech is one. I’ve turn into extra vital of the final administration and extra supportive of the Trump administration.”
After Musk took on a distinguished position as a White Home advisor to President Trump, he saved interacting with Nawfal on X.
About half of Nawfal’s posts that Musk’s interacted with within the interval NPR examined have been about Musk himself, his firms and his work on the White Home. The remainder repackaged information articles, news-focused X posts and generally provided commentary.
Nawfal’s X account typically cites information organizations as sources, together with Vox, Politico, Fortune, Fox Information, The Guardian, the BBC and public radio stations. The account would not hyperlink to the underlying information tales, however does tag X accounts that are not information organizations listed as sources.
X’s algorithm downranks posts with hyperlinks, which means customers are much less prone to see them of their feeds, Bayar stated. “Which is an issue for info literacy, digital media literacy, truth checking and data credibility.”
Generally Nawfal’s writeup carries a distinct framing than the tales it seems to supply from. A put up that pointed at CNN and NPR as sources claimed that some federal staff “do not wish to work with out distant perks and desk naps.” However a overview of the organizations’ protection about Trump’s return-to-office order from the 2 shops didn’t point out distant perks or naps.
“The fashion of our information has sort of shifted from being very bland to … changing into extra tongue in cheek and sort of making it extra humorous,” Nawfal stated. “It has been bettering retention.” NPR was not in a position to independently confirm Nawfal’s claims about efficiency.
Nawfal stated he couldn’t recall the particular put up about federal staff when NPR requested about it, however stated the nap reference was “fairly apparent to be humorous” and was “innocent”.
Worldwide leaders
In an interview with NPR, Nawfal didn’t recall interviewing any sitting heads of states earlier than Musk took up his position on the White Home —- though he did recall talking with two former ones.
Nawfal credit his entry to world leaders to his affect on X, but additionally to the best way he approaches his interviews.
“Media shops simply do not characterize them the identical means. Like, any media outlet wouldn’t characterize President Xi Jinping the identical means they’d characterize the chief of NATO, or the chief of France.”
Nawfal stated that he is been “very, very goal” in relation to geopolitics.
In his lengthy interviews with world leaders, together with the presidents of Kosovo, Serbia, Rwanda, Belarus and prime minister of Slovakia, Nawfal tends to not interrupt or push again towards his visitors’ claims. Many repeated frequent Kremlin speaking factors of their appearances.
Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko repeated claims that justified Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, whereas Russian international minister Sergey Lavrov questioned whether or not a bloodbath in Ukraine dedicated by Russian forces had really occurred.
Nawfal doesn’t solely speak to pro-Russia figures. President Vjosa Osmani of Kosovo introduced up Russia’s historical past of breaking peace agreements and expounded on how NATO and USAID has helped her nation.
Nawfal informed NPR he has an upcoming sequence specializing in Ukraine’s perspective in regards to the warfare. “I visited a few of the destroyed houses, (and) additionally bought on a movie tour of the Bucha bloodbath,” he stated. Nawfal stated on the time of interview with NPR {that a} trailer for the sequence would come out “in a couple of days”.
He additionally acknowledges that when he would not level out inaccuracies, his viewers may take the content material as truth. “One factor that journalists do on the earth that is actually necessary is that they push again when it’s a necessity. It is an artwork that I am for positive nonetheless making an attempt to good,” he stated.
Nawfal promotes the lengthy interviews by making quick clips and posting them with quotes onto X and YouTube. One follow-up clip to an interview with Serbian president Aleksandar Vučić was titled “Vucic Reveals Fact About Anti-Protestor Sonic Weapons”. A clip in regards to the interview with Belarus’s chief was titled “Lukashenko Reveals Fact About Ukraine Mineral Deal”.
Visitors apart from heads of states have additionally acquired the “reality” designation — Aleskandr Dugin, an excessive Russian nationalist who advocates for Russia’s enlargement; and influencer brothers Andrew and Tristan Tate, who’re dealing with prices in Romania over accusations of human trafficking and forming a prison gang to sexually exploit girls.
“(It is) not our place to say what’s the reality and what’s not the reality,” Nawfal informed NPR when requested in regards to the video titles, promising to “have it fastened”.
He stated he seen it, too, when somebody in his staff wrote the title. “Once I had the dialogue with him, he was like, individuals click on on it when it says ‘the reality’.”
The names of the movies have been unchanged on the time of this story’s publication. The embassies of Kosovo, Serbia, Rwanda, Belarus and Slovakia didn’t reply to NPR’s request for remark about how their leaders’ interviews with Nawfal took place.
‘Loyalty’ to X and Musk
Whereas Nawfal’s X account boasts 2.2 million followers and his bio claims he has the “Largest Present on X,” Nawfal’s interviews with world leaders solely get 1000’s of views on YouTube. He stated that though he has a staff working his YouTube account, he desires to be very “X unique”.
“I sort of have that loyalty due to the help that has given me and in addition my dedication to free speech,” Nawfal stated.
Nawfal’s content material typically appears to answer Musk’s pursuits.
In February, Musk posted: “Anybody wish to create a hard-hitting present on X known as 69 Minutes? I’ll really fund it!” One month later, Nawfal put collectively a pilot for a present that mentioned present affairs. In one other nod to Musk’s humorousness, it aired on a Sunday at 4:20pm.
“I feel he reposts the content material he agrees with and I simply attempt to convey as a lot worth to the platform as attainable,” Nawfal stated about Musk. “There’s this public communication, there’s nothing extra to it.”
Nawfal later adopted as much as say he had no feedback about his communications with Musk.
Nawfal stated that he isn’t asking Musk to fund “69 Minutes,” regardless of Musk’s provide to take action. Nor does he take sponsorship for his “political exhibits, he stated.” “Once you’re financially effectively off, you are in a greater place to not be influenced.”
However Nawfal stated he isn’t diverting assets from his incubator to make X content material free of charge, both. “I perceive after I interview presidents, prime ministers, it brings plenty of eyes to my channel,” he stated. “That is high of the funnel — after which later you possibly can and that viewers may later hearken to your monetary present, your AI present.”
These exhibits have helped convey offers to his enterprise, Nawfal stated, though he “can’t focus on numbers as it’s kind of tough, for the reason that exhibits and media arm is a part of broader incubation companies we provide.”
Potential shoppers all in favour of collaborating with Nawfal’s media platforms can select from a variety of choices, together with visitor look, sponsorship and content material collaboration. Nawfal stated that they “solely settle for sponsorships for the crypto and AI exhibits.”
The web site for Nawfal’s Worldwide Blockchain Consulting Group lists media as one in all its choices.
“Harness the affect of the most important platform on X(Twitter) and different strategic belongings we have acquired to place ourselves because the foremost entity with the widest attain in Web3,” the positioning guarantees.
In late February, Nawfal posted an interview he gave on a Polish TV station. The thumbnail of the video stated, in daring all caps: “Elon Musk saved the world”.
