News

Elon Musk Loves What Mario Nawfal Has to Say

NYT > Business > Media · Ken Bensinger · last updated

Mario Nawfal has a knack for getting Mr. Musk’s attention online, and for turning that into big business.

When the far-right Romanian politician Calin Georgescu was arrested early this year, during a failed run for president that led to accusations of campaign fraud, he made an important phone call.

The man on the other end of the line — Mario Nawfal — wasn’t a lawyer or political adviser. He wasn’t even Romanian. But he offered Mr. Georgescu something few others could: the chance to get his story spread by the world’s ultimate influencer, Elon Musk.

“Mario, the police is here arresting me on the streets,” Mr. Georgescu said in a call that Mr. Nawfal later posted on X.

Before this year, Mr. Musk had never mentioned Mr. Georgescu on X, the social media platform he owns. But over two months starting around the time of the February arrest, Mr. Musk replied to or recirculated at least 15 posts about the politician, most of them originated by Mr. Nawfal.

Related Knowledge Center: Social media

State of Play

Social media platforms are the source of news for millions of people — and they have a fraught and ever-shifting relationship with the enterprises that provide that news.

The TikTok ban | The Meta-FTC trial


More informationabout Social media