Elon Musk-backed PAC sends out ‘false’ text about Abdul El-Sayed in Senate race

Todd Heywood Fri, October 23, 2026 at 7:02 PM UTC

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LANSING, Mich. (WLNS) — A text message from a political action committee funded by Elon Musk is raising concerns by some who work with people living with and at risk for HIV.

American PAC sent messages Thursday morning declaring that "Abdul El-Sayed wants to repeal the felony for purposefully infecting someone with HIV."

The claim is not accurate, a 6 News Investigates review found.

A screenshot of a text message sent to voters making a claim about Democratic candidate for U.S. Senate Dr. Abdul El-Sayed that is inaccurate. (WLNS)The Background

In 1988, the Michigan legislature adopted a law making it a felony for a person who knows they are living with HIV to engage in any sexual penetration, "however slight," without first disclosing that to a sex partner. The law was the target of criticism as the advent of highly effective medical care shifted the infection from a deadly disease to a manageable chronic infection.

According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, a person who is living with HIV who takes the combination medications to treat the virus by suppressing it cannot sexually transmit the infection. The 1988 law did not account for this medical innovation and did not require proof of intent to transmit. The law also failed to require actual transmission or activity likely to transmit the virus.

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In 2019, the Michigan legislature amended the law to require actual risk of transmission, evaluation of medical care such as viral suppression and actual intent to transmit. The new law has both misdemeanor and felony punishments, depending on the level of risk, intent and actual transmission.

El-Sayed in a 2018 interview with statewide LGBTQ newspaper Between The Lines said he would support draft legislation circulating in the legislature at the time. That legislation would create misdemeanors related to HIV nondisclosure.

"Of course, I'm a doctor(.) I treated patients with HIV," he said in the interview. "One of the big things that we have to recognize about HIV is that no disease can be illegal. The continuing forward of these laws on the books stigmatize people with the disease."

He was running for the Democratic nomination for governor. Opponent Gretchen Whitmer also supported the legislation.

The America PAC text message fails to note that El-Sayed supported legislation that would create misdemeanor crimes, nor does it acknowledge, as Fox News Digital reported on Sept. 25, El-Sayed supported the 2019 reforms.

El-Sayed Spokesman Cole Wozniak responded to the text in a message to 6 News Investigates.

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"This text is false. As a public health professional, Abdul has fought to support programs that stem the spread of diseases, including HIV,” Wozniak wrote. “Abdul supports the bipartisan reform bill that passed in 2019 through a Republican legislature that eliminated the discriminatory laws on the books.”

America PAC did not respond to a request for comment emailed Thursday.

The Senate Leadership Fund, which has received $158 million from Musk, has also promoted this claim on Oct. 1.

Why It Matters

The record shows El-Sayed supported reforming the law, downgrading the scientifically inaccurate 1988 felony law to misdemeanors — not repealing the law. The claim he wants to "repeal" the felony law is not factual.

The link the text message took recipients to appears to be a data collection site for America PAC. The site encourages people to enter their name, address and other information in order to identify their voter registration status, polling location and other election related information. That's information the state of Michigan offers without data collection.

Advocates for those living with and at risk for HIV infection told 6 News Investigates this kind of political operation is dangerous to public health.

Emme Zanotti, senior director of political affairs at Equality Michigan, said while her comments were not an endorsement of any campaign or candidate, it was important to challenge the messaging.

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"There is zero evidence that HIV criminalization laws deter risky behavior or reduce the number of new HIV infections. Laws that criminalize HIV are ancient and dangerous, and rhetoric that singles out people living with HIV do nothing but reinforce inaccurate beliefs about the actual risks and consequences of HIV transmission,” Zanotti said. “This stigma discourages people at risk from seeking the resources they need for prevention and care. Modern effective medical care and treatment reduces HIV transmission risks through all routes to near-zero. Our communities will be healthier and safer when our elected officials invest more in public health and awareness and invest less in attacking already marginalized people."

Zanotti is not alone in her concerns. Lansing Area AIDS Network Executive Director Kristina Schmidgall said the political misinformation impacts personal and public health.

"I think it causes people to hide, whether it's hide their status and then they're not getting the support that they need, hide the care that they need, hide their medications, and then maybe they can't take their medications as prescribed hide that they're getting services at their doctor or getting case management or other services hide from testing," she said. “I think it causes people, you know, you get something on a a system level or kind of a bigger level. But then you also get then the individual responses.

“At this point we haven't heard anything from any clients or any individuals other than, you know, the information that was sent to me. But yeah, it filters down. And people start talking about it. And then people might start talking about it and they might not realize that someone that they love and someone that they're close to is living with HIV that hasn't been disclosed to them. And then they're talking poorly about it. And the person's not going to share that information and then maybe not get the support that they need."

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