When the controversial owner of X (formerly Twitter), Elon Musk suggested that “civil war” was inevitable in response to false claims about the recent UK riots, he sparked a diplomatic firestorm. The British government condemned his comments, with one official complaining that Musk was “accountable to no one.”
But the incident also highlighted a troubling reality: as the owner of a major social media platform, Musk wields immense power to spread incendiary content—and almost any traditional way of trying to stop him would inevitably backfire.
Riots have been happening across the UK recently, following the stabbing deaths of three children by a teenager at a dance and yoga event. Extremist agitators used channels on the social media app Telegram to stir up hatred and anger, mostly by falsely claiming that the teenager was a Muslim refugee.
