Elon Musk’s views on UK riots annoy British government

On his X platform, the controversial billionaire comments on the violent news in the United Kingdom and calls out British Prime Minister Keir Starmer on his handling of the crisis. His thoughts prompted the Secretary of State for Justice to react.

“Civil war is inevitable”, “a police force that has chosen its side, at two speeds”. This is Elon Musk’s take on the situation in the United Kingdom that prompted the British government to react, through the voice of his Secretary of State for Justice, Heidi Alexander. She describes the billionaire’s remarks as“unjustifiable and irresponsible” before continuing: “If you own a big social media platform, that gives you a responsibility. Everyone should be calling for calm.”

A staunch supporter of Republican presidential candidate and former US President Donald Trump, this is not the first time that the Tesla founder has interfered in a country’s politics. He regularly expresses his admiration for nationalist parties on his X platform, which he bought in 2022, and is critical of wokeism.

Also defending an extreme vision of freedom of expression, he describes X as a global public square where Internet users can say anything. In this way, he defends his commercial interests but goes against British regulation.

Keir Starmer, who came to power last July, wants to condemn incitement to violence online. But with his 193 million subscribers and the power to block or unblock users of his platform, Elon Musk has weight.

In 2023, it rehabilitated the Islamophobic far-right influencer Tommy Robinson, founder of the English Defense League. The latter had been blocked from the platform since 2018 and regularly organizes anti-immigration actions.

By allowing far-right group leaders to speak in front of millions of Internet users, Elon Musk is making it easier for British rioters to organize. Some Labour MPs are calling for the businessman to be held accountable before the British Parliament.