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Elon Musk has taken a humiliating schooling from several high-profile accounts on X after he waded into the riots that have broken out in pockets of England and Northern Ireland.
The X billionaire has been accused of being an “attention seeker” and the “PR manager for the far right” who is courting controversy to drive engagement on his platform.
Musk escalated his spat with Sir Keir Starmer, calling him “Two-tier Keir” and criticising the Prime Minister’s response to the ongoing disorder on Britain’s streets.
He has posted or reposted a series of images, videos and memes related to the rioting, including content that has been widely shared on right-wing accounts on the platform.
And he has been praised by right-wing activist Tommy Robinson – whose real name is Stephen Yaxley-Lennon – over allowing him to return to the platform, having previously been banned for breaking the site’s hate speech rules.
Social media expert Matt Navarra called Mr Musk the “world’s biggest attention-seeking billionaire” who was “almost incapable of controlling his outbursts, despite the detrimental impact it has on his business”.
“I think, to be honest, right now, Elon Musk is acting like the PR manager for the far right and can reasonably be put in the same class as Andrew Tate and Tommy Robinson,” he told the PA news agency.
“His words do have consequences, and his behaviour is much like a far-right ring leader, with X as his megaphone, that’s inciting racial hatred – intentionally or not.”
Other high-profile accounts, including Piers Morgan and Alastair Campbell, have called Musk out on X, saying he is morphing into a “sovereign individual anarcho-capitalist narcissist with fascist leanings”.
Pat de Brun, deputy director of tech at Amnesty International, said the algorithms at the heart of social media platforms, which he said prioritise engagement, were a key factor in the current spread of disinformation.
“In the UK, the racist violence that has spilled across the streets follows a period of intense scapegoating of refugees and migrants by politicians and others, through dangerous rhetoric and policies,” he said.
“In this context, social media algorithms have actively amplified and escalated xenophobic discourse.
“These toxic algorithms are deliberately designed to prioritise engagement above all else.
“As a result, they act as incendiaries that fuel division, disinformation and hate.”
X has not responded to any request for comment around the Southport attacks and misinformation on its platform.
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