Twitter fact-checks owner Elon Musk over ‘Dune’ quote

New Twitter CEO and owner Elon Musk was fact-checked by his own platform on Tuesday after he falsely attributed a quote to the science fiction epic “Dune.” 

“Fanaticism is always a function of repressed doubt,” Musk tweeted, attributing the saying to Frank Herbert’s 1965 novel, which was recently turned into a blockbuster film. 

Users quickly pointed out that the quote is actually by the prolific Swiss psychiatrist, Carl Jung. 

The fact check came in the form of Twitter’s new Community Notes feature, which aims to “create a better-informed world by empowering people on Twitter to collaboratively add context to potentially misleading Tweets.”

Musk touted the recently launched feature earlier this month, saying that it is a revamped version of Twitter’s pilot program, Birdwatch. 

“Birdwatch (soon to be renamed Community Notes) has incredible potential for improving information accuracy on Twitter!” the billionaire tweeted.

The feature has been used to flag other powerful individuals, including a tweet by the White House that incorrectly credited President Biden for increasing Social Security payments.

Twitter/@elonmusk

AP/ mary Altaffer

It’s one of several notable changes that Twitter has made under Musk’s ownership. 

The platform has been unbanning popular accounts, preparing for the launch of its new $7.99 “Twitter Blue” subscription option, and cutting its workforce.