A UK government minister criticized Elon Musk for his “unacceptable” comments on social media about the far-right riots in England and Northern Ireland.
The owner of X caused a stir when he posted on the site that a British “civil war” was inevitable. He further inflamed tensions with a provocative reply to UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer.
Justice Minister Heidi Alexander called Musk’s comments “deeply irresponsible,” stating, “Use of language such as ‘civil war’ is in no way acceptable.” She emphasized the seriousness of the situation, noting the injuries to police officers and the damage to buildings, and urged those with a platform to use it responsibly.
The riots, driven by anti-immigrant demonstrators, erupted after the murder of three children at a Taylor Swift-themed dance party in Southport, northwest England. The violence has been fueled by online disinformation claiming the suspect, Axel Rudakubana, a 17-year-old born in Britain, is a Muslim asylum seeker.
Riots have targeted mosques and hotels housing asylum seekers, prompting the government to enhance security for Islamic places of worship.
Prime Minister Starmer pledged to enforce “criminal law online as well as offline” and stated that attacks on mosques and Muslim communities would not be tolerated. Musk’s response was, “Shouldn’t you be concerned about attacks on all communities?”
Musk’s initial “civil war” post was in response to another X user blaming the riots on “mass migration and open borders.” Starmer’s spokesperson condemned Musk’s comment, saying there was “no justification” for it.
Influencers like Andrew Tate and far-right figure Tommy Robinson have spread false claims about Rudakubana on X. Starmer’s team suggested that “bot activity online” might be amplifying these false rumors, potentially involving state actors.
An anti-immigrant X account, EuropeInvasion, falsely claimed the attacker was Muslim, and an AI-generated image showing Muslim men chasing a child in a British flag has amassed over 900,000 views.
Technology Minister Peter Kyle met with representatives from TikTok, Meta, Google, and X, warning that social media users spreading misinformation would have “nowhere to hide.”
Since taking over Twitter, Musk has reduced content moderation, instead relying on user-written “community notes.” He frequently supports right-wing causes and politicians, including Donald Trump in the US and Javier Milei in Argentina.
