Elon Musk set off a wildfire of MAGA outrage on Tuesday when he accused The New York Times of “deliberate” and “comprehensive” anti-white racism — all because of a capital letter. Or rather, the lack of one.
The spark? A style choice in a New York Times article about a high-profile murder case. The paper capitalized the word “Black” but left “white” in lowercase. That tiny difference sent the MAGA internet into a frenzy.
The outrage centers on a New York Times article about a high-profile murder case, where the word “Black” is capitalized, while “white” is not. That tiny difference sent the MAGA internet into a frenzy.
Far-right agitator Douglass Mackey flagged it initially, suggesting the lowercase “white” was evidence that white people are treated as “second-class citizens.”
Musk, never one to pass up an opportunity to provoke, ran with it.
“Why is ‘white’ always in lowercase, but Black is uppercase, @nytimes?” Musk wrote on X. “The NY Times is deliberate, precise and comprehensive in its anti-White racism.”
Cue the frenzy.
MAGA influencers and keyboard warriors immediately swarmed, amplifying the claim into a full-blown culture war skirmish. Within hours, the issue was being framed not just as a style guide debate, but as further proof of the media’s alleged disdain for white Americans.
Alex Lorusso, a MAGA-aligned internet personality, scoffed at the explanation behind the capitalization convention.
“Did you know that the AP has an actual ‘explanation’ for this? It’s everything you’d expect…”
The Associated Press, which sets the standard for much of the American media’s editorial style, explains the choice this way: capitalizing “Black” in a cultural or ethnic context recognizes “strong historical and cultural commonalities,” especially in the face of systemic discrimination. “White people generally do not share the same history and culture, or the experience of being discriminated against because of skin color,” the AP states.
That nuance was of no interest to those who had already decided this was another sign of institutional bias.
“This is why. Check the date,” posted Eric Daugherty, news director for Florida Voice News. “BLM and George Floyd is why. Utter and complete madness.”
Political consultant Joey Mannarino added, simply: “AP literally says that’s the rule. It’s so racist.”
Others followed suit, dragging in unrelated but predictable right-wing talking points.
“For the same reason that @nytimes won’t report that 5% of the population commits over 50% of the murders,” wrote self-described “citizen journalist” Nick Sortor — an often-cited, race-based statistic frequently used in bad faith arguments.
Even Liz Wheeler, known for her conspiratorial takes, chimed in: “Grok does this too fyi,” referring to the AI chatbot developed by Musk’s company xAI — a strange flex, considering he controls it.
This isn’t the first time Musk has stoked racial and cultural grievance, and it likely won’t be the last. But what started as a style choice grounded in editorial policy has once again been weaponized into political fodder. The capitalization of one letter — or the absence of it — has become another rallying point for a movement that thrives on victimhood and outrage.
For many in the MAGA universe, the facts don’t matter. The style guide doesn’t matter. The context doesn’t matter. All that matters is the narrative — and the narrative this time is clear: the media hates white people.
