Elon Musk, head of the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE), appeared to mock liberal media outlets after they fixated on the nickname of a DOGE team member, a move that quickly went viral online.

Musk and President Donald Trump’s administration have faced media scrutiny over DOGE’s mission to expose government waste and inefficiency.

As DOGE uncovered fraud and abuse within federal agencies, left-leaning media outlets intensified their attacks.

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In an effort to discredit DOGE, media outlets published personal details about some of its team members, a practice known as doxxing. Among those targeted was a young DOGE staffer, whom the press referred to by his online alias, “Big Balls.”

Say “big balls” three times and Anderson Cooper will appear with a microphone.

pic.twitter.com/xxT2tKeu1d

— john jackson (@pvtjokerus) February 7, 2025

Rather than causing damage, the media’s obsession with the nickname backfired, as the name quickly became an internet sensation.

The incident led Musk to troll the media further by changing his social media name to “Harry Bōlz.”

Musk’s name change appeared to be a direct response to the media’s fixation on DOGE’s staffers. However, instead of ignoring the joke, CNN took the bait.

CNN’s Dana Bash went on-air to report Musk’s temporary name change, making it a central topic of discussion.

“Now the ‘Disruptor in Chief,’ @ElonMusk, who apparently has adopted the alias, at least he changed his social media handle, to ‘Harry Bōlz,’ tweeted this morning, ‘Democracy in America is being destroyed by the judicial coup. An activist judge is not a real judge,’” Bash said.

Made them say my name 🤣🤣
pic.twitter.com/bSTHB9ttVa

— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) February 11, 2025

Musk’s statement referred to a recent court ruling that he believes obstructs the executive branch’s ability to audit and review its own agencies—a primary function of DOGE.

While the media focused on Musk’s name change, they largely ignored a major DOGE revelation—that USAID had been using American taxpayer dollars to fund circumcisions worldwide, often at inflated costs.

Musk highlighted this misuse of funds, joking that if DOGE took over the program, it would provide the same services at a lower cost.

Shortly after CNN and other outlets ran stories on his “Harry Bōlz” persona, Musk switched his social media name back to “Elon Musk.”

By then, Musk had successfully:

• Tricked media into fixating on a trivial name change
• Amplified his criticism of activist judges obstructing government oversight
• Highlighted a major case of taxpayer-funded government waste

Musk’s trolling not only exposed the media’s fixation on personality over policy, but also shifted public attention to real issues of government inefficiency—a core mission of DOGE.