Elon Musk is under fire again—this time for amplifying misinformation about Netflix’s hit miniseries Adolescence.
The four-part drama, starring Stephen Graham and Erin Doherty, dropped last week and has already racked up over 24 million views. The gripping series follows 13-year-old Jamie (Owen Cooper), who is accused of murdering a classmate. As the investigation unfolds, his parents (played by Christine Tremarco and Graham) are forced to confront the disturbing reality of online radicalisation and incel culture.
Praised for its brutal honesty, Adolescence has sparked intense debate about misogyny and the hidden dangers lurking online. But not everyone is sticking to the facts.
💡 The Misinformation That Went Viral
The controversy started when X user @stillgray, real name Ian Miles Cheong, claimed the show was based on the real-life Southport murder but had ‘race-swapped’ the killer from a Black man to a white boy.
His post, viewed nearly five million times, read:
“Netflix has a show called Adolescence that’s about a British knife killer who stabbed a girl to death on a bus and it’s based on real-life cases such as the Southport murderer.
So guess what. They race swapped the actual killer from a Black man/migrant to a white boy and the story has it so he was radicalised online by the red pill movement. Just the absolute state of anti-white propaganda.”
Musk, who boasts 220 million followers, simply replied: “Wow.”
🗣️ Fact-Checking Musk and the Internet
However, many were quick to call out the false claims.
X user @Shayan86 clarified:
“Adolescence is not based on the Southport attack or a single case. It was already in production and being filmed before Southport happened.”
Indeed, Adolescence was filmed between March and September last year. The Southport attack, where 18-year-old Axel Rudakubana killed three girls at a Taylor Swift-themed dance class, took place on 29 July—well after filming had begun.
Another user, @Sensanetional, described the spread of misinformation as “concerning,” while @priestleyl dubbed X a “hell site” for allowing false claims to run rampant.
🎭 What Adolescence Is Really Based On
Unlike what viral posts suggest, Adolescence isn’t based on a single crime. Instead, Stephen Graham and writer Jack Thorne drew inspiration from multiple tragic cases.
Speaking to Radio Times, Graham explained:
“There was an incident in Liverpool, a young girl, and she was stabbed to death by a young boy. I just thought, ‘Why?’”
He also referenced other shocking knife crimes, including:
- A teenage girl stabbed to death at a bus stop in South London.
- Brianna Ghey’s murder, where two teenagers lured her to a park before stabbing her.
“This idea has been 10 years in the making,” Graham revealed at a Netflix event earlier this year. “We’ve seen an epidemic of knife crime among young lads up and down the country. And for me, certain instances really stuck out—young boys, and they are young boys, killing young girls.”
💡 The Bigger Issue: Online Radicalisation
More than just a crime drama, Adolescence shines a light on a troubling issue—how young boys are being radicalised in online spaces.
Graham told Tudum:
“One of our aims was to ask, ‘What is happening to our young men these days? What pressures are they facing from their peers, from the internet, from social media?’”
The show raises uncomfortable but necessary questions about toxic online communities, masculinity, and the influence of figures like Andrew Tate. And despite the misinformation surrounding it, Adolescence is sparking conversations that need to happen.
Related: Stephen Graham opens up about racism and acting struggles
