Elon Musk shared on social platform X, that almost 20 million people over age 100, with no death record, were receiving Social Security benefits. The Ford School's Justin Wolfers quickly jumped in to assert the falsehood in Musk's claims.
Responding on X, February 17, 2025, Wolfers countered Musk's misinterpretation of the data stating, "This isn't high-tech data science. Looking at a histogram is literally the first thing you're meant to do when looking at a new dataset. We teach it in high school." Wolfers went on to provide the correct interpretations of the data and assure the public that Social Security benefits weren't being distributed to mass amounts of deceased individuals. He replied "And here's the number of RECIPIENTS of Social Security in each age bucket... A mere 89,106 are aged 99+, not the tens of millions suggested by @elonmusk."
The media took note and featured him in stories about Musk's claims.
"Millions of Dead People on Social Security? The Agency’s Own Data Says Otherwise." The New York Times, February 19, 2025 - Wolfer's speaking on Musk's intentions told The New York Times that, “This is a propagandist looking for something out of the ordinary." Wolfers said Musk was deliberately spreading misinformation.
"Musk misreads Social Security data, millions of dead people not getting benefits, experts say" ABC News, February 19, 2025 - On ABC News, Wolfers further asserted the gaps in Musk's logic adding that, It's transparently obvious that he's misinterpreting or misrepresenting" the data and noted Musk is not "showing his work."
"Musk's claims of Social Security payouts to dead people lack evidence" AFP, February 21, 2025 - Commenting on Musk's spread of misinformation on Social Security beneficiaries, Wolfers told AFP, "It is absolutely inaccurate." Alluding to the promotion of correct data he shared on X, Wolfers said "In fact, we know the true number."
