A Twitter message fact-checking Elon Musk after he raised the prospect that the COVID vaccine could have played a job in USC basketball standout Bronny James suffering cardiac arrest appeared after which quickly disappeared from the rebranded site — prompting speculation that the owner of the platform had it deleted.
James, an 18-year-old college freshman and the son of NBA superstar LeBron James, was rushed to the hospital after suffering cardiac arrest during a basketball workout in Los Angeles on Monday. He was treated and listed in stable condition on Wednesday.
“We cannot ascribe all the pieces to the vaccine, but, by the identical token, we cannot ascribe nothing,” Musk said. “Myocarditis is a known side-effect. The one query is whether or not it’s rare or common.”
Musk’s post was quickly labeled with a message via the “Twitter Community Notes” feature, which cited articles from the Yale School of Medicine and CBS News on the topic. The billionaire rebranded Twitter as X this week.
“Studies show that the danger of myocarditis is significantly higher after an actual Covid infection than with the vaccine,” the fact-check said. “Amongst adolescent boys, the danger of myocarditis following a Covid infection was roughly twice that of the danger following the second vaccine dose.”
![Elon Musk](https://nypost.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2023/07/NYPICHPDPICT000014319470-4.jpg?w=1024)
By Tuesday evening, the Community note was not shown below Musk’s post on the platform formerly often known as Twitter, though an archived version was still visible on the Wayback Machine.
Forbes published an article asserting that Twitter had “deleted” the fact-check, while the Day by day Beast said it had been “removed” by the corporate. The Day by day Dot followed with the same post claiming that Musk “appears to remove Community Note fact-checking his tweet” on Wednesday morning.
For now, it’s unclear if the post was deleted by Musk or X staffers.
![Musk fact check](https://nypost.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2023/07/NYPICHPDPICT000014698430.jpg?w=1024)
The “Community Notes” feature operates on a polling system, with participants voting on whether or not they find a selected note helpful for understanding the broader context behind a tweet.
The “Community Notes Guide” still visible on Twitter’s website says notes can appear after which disappear based on shifts in user rankings.
“Note statuses are updated as latest rankings are available, so notes may show on Twitter after which disappear,” the guide says. “Statuses are locked after 2 weeks.”
![Bronny James](https://nypost.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2023/07/NYPICHPDPICT000014612904.jpg?w=1024)
Musk has yet to make clear the matter. The Post has reached out to the corporate formerly often known as Twitter for comment on the situation.
Musk has faced intense scrutiny over his comments on the vaccine, with journalist Bob Costas amongst those that criticized him for commenting on James’ condition.
There isn’t any evidence linking James’ cardiac arrest incident to the vaccine.
![Bronny James](https://nypost.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2023/07/NYPICHPDPICT000014612899.jpg?w=683)
Myocarditis is a rare inflammation of the center muscle that has been reported in cases involving adolescents and young adult males who were administered the mRNA vaccine against COVID-19, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
According to CDC data, there have been 635 cases of myocarditis diagnosed out of the 54.8 million doses of the mRNA vaccine given to children between the ages of 5 and 17 as of May 2022.
The CDC’s website notes that myocarditis and pericarditis, an inflammation of the center’s outer lining, “have rarely been reported” and that the risks of COVID-19 “far outweigh the potential risks” of getting the vaccine.
James showed signs of improvement as of early Wednesday and his parents, LeBron James and wife Savannah, were said to be “relieved,” according to TMZ. LeBron had earlier been photographed entering the hospital where his son was being treated.