The Billionaire, the Teen Coders, and a Global Scandal

When Elon Musk launched the Department of Government Efficiency—nicknamed Doge—he promised to slash $2 trillion in so-called government “waste.” It was supposed to be a bold experiment in tech-powered governance. Instead, it has spiraled into one of the most shocking failures in recent political history, leaving ruined lives, tortured families, and accusations of outright election fraud in its wake.

At the center of this scandal sits Musk himself: the billionaire who bought Twitter (rebranded X), handed vast power to a cadre of untested twenty-somethings, and unleashed a tidal wave of disinformation that has now reached catastrophic proportions.

A Tweet That Destroyed a Life

The story begins with a viral Musk tweet, posted March 31, still visible to millions. It claimed Doge had uncovered evidence of the U.S. Institute of Peace funneling money to the Taliban. Musk added a sneering commentary: “Any government institution is most likely the opposite of its name.”

The post reached 20 million people. Buried inside was the name of one man: Muhammad Haleimi, a 53-year-old exiled Afghan scholar who had worked for decades as a consultant for U.S. diplomats. The Doge team wrongly branded him as a Taliban-linked figure.

Haleimi initially thought it was an April Fool’s prank. It was not. Days later, Taliban agents seized his relatives, blindfolded them, and held them in a remote prison. They were beaten, interrogated, and threatened—all because of a reckless tweet amplified by the world’s richest man.

The Doge Team: “Sociopathic Teenagers”

Critics say Doge was doomed from the start. Staffed by brash young operatives with little government experience, it wielded extraordinary access to federal databases. One insider described them as “Patrick Bateman teenagers”—using confidential information to toy with lives.

In one notorious case, Doge accidentally marked elderly Americans as deceased, triggering chaos in Social Security payments. An 80-year-old man received a letter declaring him dead. “I’m still alive,” he protested. But the system had already erased him.

The recklessness went beyond incompetence. According to Afghanistan expert Barnett Rubin: “Doge was completely indifferent to the effect their actions had on human beings. Absolutely despicable.”

The Numbers Don’t Lie—Doge Failed

For all the damage, Doge delivered almost nothing on its promises. Musk boasted of $2 trillion in savings. That figure collapsed to $1 trillion, then $150 billion. Finally, a Politico investigation revealed the truth: the actual savings amounted to just $1.4 billion—barely 2 percent of Doge’s claim.

Billions in U.S. foreign aid programs were gutted. Initiatives aimed at stopping global disease outbreaks were shut down. Experts warn that pandemics could spread faster as a result. All for a negligible financial return.

“For someone who calls himself a businessman,” one analyst said, “Musk doesn’t understand return on investment. That $58 billion spent on U.S. aid was worth trillions in long-term value. Cutting it was beyond reckless.”

Fox News and the Smear Campaign

The disaster escalated when Doge staffers appeared on Fox News, where 28-year-old operative Nate Kavanaugh repeated the false claim that Haleimi was connected to Taliban contractors.

What Kavanaugh failed to mention: just four weeks earlier, he had received official U.S. records proving Haleimi’s legitimate work with diplomats. ProPublica later confirmed the documents existed. Which means the smear wasn’t just a mistake—it was deliberate.

Kavanaugh’s team laughed on air. The host egged them on. And Haleimi’s nightmare deepened.

Musk’s Propaganda Machine

Observers say the real story is Musk’s use of X (formerly Twitter) as a weapon. By flooding the platform with 99 posts a day, each generating tens of millions of views, Musk turned Doge into a relentless propaganda engine.

“He’s carpet bombing the ecosystem with lies,” one critic said. “And when those lies hit international audiences, the consequences are deadly.”

The Haleimi incident is now Exhibit A. But it may not be the last.

Election Lottery Scandal

As if international disinformation wasn’t enough, Musk also faces a lawsuit in the United States for allegedly running an illegal $1 million election lottery.

The scheme, critics say, was simple: Musk encouraged people to sign petitions, recruit friends, and vote—promising million-dollar prizes in return. Videos of “winners” circulated online. In one unedited clip, a Wisconsin woman declared: “I did exactly what Elon Musk told us to do—sign a petition, refer friends and family, vote—and now I have a million dollars.”

Within days, the video was re-edited, scrubbing the word “vote.”

Investigators now claim many winners were preselected and the lottery itself was political theater designed to drive turnout in Republican districts.

Global Backlash

The fallout has been swift. International human rights groups are demanding accountability for the Haleimi case. U.S. lawmakers are probing Doge’s financial claims. And the lawsuit over the election lottery threatens to drag Musk into court.

Still, the billionaire appears unfazed. Musk continues to post daily, sparring with critics and mocking journalists. But for many, the question is no longer whether Doge failed—it’s whether Musk has crossed a moral and legal line that endangers democracy itself.

A Cry for Accountability

Haleimi’s family remains traumatized. His relatives in Afghanistan live in fear of another abduction. His name, once associated with peace work, is now tied to false accusations seen by millions.

Meanwhile, U.S. taxpayers are left with nothing to show for Doge’s lofty promises. Programs dismantled, alliances damaged, lives ruined—and savings so small they barely register.

“This isn’t just incompetence,” said one former adviser. “It’s cruelty dressed up as efficiency.”

Conclusion: From Tech Titan to Threat?

Elon Musk built his empire on audacity—rockets, electric cars, AI, social media. But Doge may be remembered as his greatest failure. Not because it didn’t save money, but because it revealed something darker: a willingness to weaponize platforms, distort truth, and sacrifice human lives in the process.

As lawsuits mount and investigations deepen, one haunting question remains:

Is Elon Musk still just a tech mogul, or has he become something far more dangerous—a billionaire willing to play with democracy, human rights, and truth itself?