An American businessman, Elon Musk, sparked online discussion after a sarcastic post on Twitter about the United States Air Force’s recent action against a Chinese balloon.
In response to a BBC Breaking News tweet announcing the successful neutralization of a Chinese airborne object over the United States, Musk shared a meme. The image shows an American fighter jet flying toward a house seen from above, with a pensioner and a young boy scout of Asian appearance aboard.
The broadcast from Musk drew substantial engagement, approaching six million views in a matter of hours, with more than 100,000 likes and several thousand comments within six hours.
Among the comments, a notable portion of the audience endorsed Musk’s symbolic critique of the U.S. government’s response, suggesting alternative ways to address the situation. One user named DJ Kommotion argued that it might make more sense to intercept the Chinese balloon mid-flight and inspect it later.
Earlier coverage noted that on the morning of February 5 the United States military shot down a Chinese civilian balloon over American soil. In the United States, the balloon was described as a surveillance device, while Beijing maintained that it was a civilian craft that accidentally crossed into U.S. airspace.