Why in the world is Elon Musk trying to stoke violence and disorder in the United Kingdom? Free speech, of course!
Following a stabbing last month in Southport in the northern U.K. that killed three young girls, disinformation quickly spread on Elon Musk’s platform, X, including the rumor that the attacker was an asylum-seeker.
On Sunday, hundreds of far-right anti-immigrant protesters attacked a hotel housing asylum-seekers in Rotherham, a town in South Yorkshire, England. From there, rioters continued to take to the streets in other cities and towns.
As violent mobs took to the streets, Musk tweeted that “civil war is inevitable” and blamed “open borders.”
As the week went on, anti-fascists and U.K. police faced down the rioters, eventually quelling the protests. On Tuesday, the U.K. government promised to bring rioters and their online agitators to justice.
In response, Musk went so far as to call the U.K. authorities pursuing the right-wing violent perpetrators the “Woke Stasi” and clashed with new Labour Prime Minister Keir Starmer. “Is this Britain or the Soviet Union?” Musk asked in another tweet.
“Let me also say to large social media companies and those who run them: Violent disorder, clearly whipped up online, that is also a crime,” responded Starmer. “It’s happening on your premises, and the law must be upheld everywhere.”
Days have passed, and still, Musk seems unfazed by Starmer’s threats or by the real-world violence his social media site has platformed. With no hint of remorse, he tweeted on Friday afternoon, “Support freedom of speech in the UK!”
