‘Bulls**t’: Axios CEO Jim VandeHei criticises Elon Musk over citizen journalism claims

Jim VandeHei, CEO and co-founder of Axios, delivered a fiery speech at the National Press Club last week, criticising Elon Musk's assertion that “citizen journalists” have replaced traditional media.

VandeHei passionately defended the role of professional journalism, calling Musk's claim “bulls**t.”


During his address, VandeHei emphasised the importance of transparency and a free press in upholding democracy, highlighting the dedication required to report facts from challenging environments.

"There’s something about freedom, capitalism, and the animal spirits of democracy, but at the core of that is maybe transparency, maybe a free press, maybe the ability to do your job without worrying to go to jail,” he said.

VandeHei lambasted Musk’s statement that individuals with social media platforms and blue checkmarks could replace professional journalists. Comparing journalism to neurosurgery, he argued that expertise and commitment were indispensable.

"Having a Twitter handle and 300 words of cleverness doesn’t make you a reporter anymore than me looking at your head and saying you have a brain makes me a neurosurgeon,” he said, earning applause from MSNBC’s Morning Joe panel.

In response to VandeHei’s criticism, Musk dismissed it with a characteristically blunt reply on X: “Yeah, whatever lmao. You are the media now. And legacy media know it.”


Musk, known for his provocative statements, recently encouraged users on X (formerly Twitter) to embrace citizen journalism, declaring, “You are the media now.”