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I looked into this and what Elon is referring to with Bill Gates and the media is actually wild.

A 2021 MintPress investigation reviewed over 30,000 Gates Foundation grants and found at least $319 million went to media outlets, journalism projects, and training programs.… https://t.co/aN9GTg8grF

— SMB Attorney (@SMB_Attorney) July 26, 2026

I looked into this and what Elon is referring to with Bill Gates and the media is actually wild.

A 2021 MintPress investigation reviewed over 30,000 Gates Foundation grants and found at least $319 million went to media outlets, journalism projects, and training programs.

Biggest direct recipients included:
> NPR: $24.6 million
> The Guardian: $12.9 million
> Cascade Public Media: $10.8 million
> Der Spiegel: $5.4 million
> CNN: $3.6 million
> Plus BBC, The Atlantic, Le Monde, NBC, and many more

Most of the money was earmarked for coverage of global health, development, education, and gender equality, the exact topics the foundation prioritizes.

Every outlet says the funding comes with full editorial independence.

The grants are public. No one has produced evidence of direct pay for positive stories.

But the scale is massive.

And Elon doesn’t write those checks.

That’s the documented difference.