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A new Led By Donkeys film has outlined how Elon Musk used his social media platform to help get Donald Trump elected – before cashing in on the result.
Trump recorded a decisive win in the US election on November 5th, but he couldn’t have done it without a little help from his friends.
X owner Musk was an everpresent figure during the campaign, taking to stage with the president-elect at rallies and showing his support for the Republican in a raft of tweets.
Professor Timothy Graham from the Queensland University of Technology found “an alarming strategy” behind the content Musk posted to his 200 million followers.
The expert in digital media argued that “by bombarding audiences, journalists, and other key stakeholders with a constant supply of allegations, rumours, conspiracy theories and unverifiable claims, Musk and the Trump campaign eat up all the oxygen of attention.”
All this, he says, distracts people from what his opponents are saying.
Since taking over the social media platform, formerly named Twitter, Musk has allowed it to become flooded with right-wing personalities whose views had previously been deemed too toxic for public consumption.
In the UK, recently jailed Tommy Robinson is among those who have seen their accounts reinstated, while Andrew Tate, who has posted a number of misogynistic comments since Trump was elected, is also back on the platform.
Campaign group Led By Donkeys has produced a new viral film demonstrating how Musk used X to get Trump elected.
Musk also ploughed a substantial amount of money into the Trump campaign, staking a whopping $119 million on the election result.
But according to reports, the investment has paid off handsomely, making Musk some $20 billion overnight.
Not a bad bit of business, wouldn’t you say?
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