Yes, anti-Elon Musk messages were projected on Twitter building in San Francisco

Elon Musk has had a rocky start after taking over as the new boss of Twitter on Oct. 28. This past week, after he reportedly sent a memo to staff advising them to be “hardcore” or leave with three months severance, employees started posting tweets using the hashtag #lovewhereyouworked to announce their departure from the tech company.

You can see some of those tweets here, here and here.

Musk’s demands have drawn public criticism on and off the internet. One video posted Nov. 17 with millions of views claims to show anti-Musk messages being projected on Twitter’s headquarters in San Francisco.

Many people on social media questioned whether this really happened, or if the video was doctored. 

THE QUESTION

Is the video showing anti-Musk messages real?

THE SOURCES

• Alan Marling, a projection activist
• Videos posted by NBC Bay Area reporters
• Google Maps

THE ANSWER

Yes, the video is real. The messages were projected on the outside of Twitter’s headquarters in San Francisco on Nov. 17. 

WHAT WE FOUND

Alan Marling is a projection activist who aired the messages onto the side of Twitter’s headquarters on Thursday, Nov. 17.

“Projection activism is a nonviolent silent protest, which allows people to engage with it as little or as much as they please. Legally, it’s like holding up a big sign made of light,” Marling told VERIFY in an email. 

“Musk seems to have no concept of free speech. Or he knows what it is but is gaslighting people. Either way, I wanted to shine light on the disinformation,” he added.

Marling posted several images from Twitter’s headquarters to his Instagram page on Thursday night. Marling told VERIFY the messages are in protest to Musk’s purchase of Twitter and his business practices, among other things. He also said he’s never worked at Twitter.

Other videos posted to social media show the scene outside of Twitter’s headquarters. This video, for instance, from NBC Bay Area reporter Gia Vang shows the scrolling text displayed on the building. This video from another NBC Bay Area reporter shows the large crowd outside the building.

VERIFY confirmed the building was Twitter’s headquarters by using Google Maps:

Thursday wasn’t the first time Marling has used projection to air messages on the outside of Twitter’s offices. On Nov. 11, he posted a photo to Instagram from the same building with the message “proof Elon is an idiot” with an arrow pointing to Twitter’s sign. 

Here is another post from Marling with projections on Twitter’s building from Nov. 9, and another from Oct. 26.

VERIFY reached out to Twitter and Elon Musk for comment.