Unruly crowds clash with police in Southport, northwest England, Tuesday, July 30, 2024, where three girls were stabbed to death in a dance class a day earlier. The violence broke out shortly after hundreds of people held a peaceful protest in the centre of Southport to mourn the 13 victims of the stabbing murders, seven of whom are still in a critical condition. | Photo credit: AP
The British government has called on Elon Musk to act responsibly after the tech billionaire used his social media platform X to make a number of posts which authorities say risk inciting public sentiment. Violent unrest in the country,
Justice Minister Heidi Alexander made the comments on Tuesday morning (6 August) after Mr Musk posted a comment suggesting that “civil war is inevitable” in the UK. Mr Musk later reiterated his point, highlighting complaints that the British criminal justice system treats Muslims more leniently than far-right activists and comparing the UK’s crackdown on social media users to the Soviet Union.
“Using language that resembles civil war is in no way acceptable,” Ms. Alexander said. Times Radio“We’re seeing police officers getting seriously injured, buildings getting burned down, so I really think everybody who has a platform should use their power responsibly.”
Violence has rocked Britain for more than a week, with clashes between police and crowds chanting anti-immigrant and anti-Islam slogans in cities and towns from Northern Ireland to the south coast of England. The unrest began when right-wing activists used social media to spread misinformation about a Muslim woman. knife attack in which three girls died during a Taylor Swift-themed dance event on July 29.
Prime Minister Keir StarmerOn Monday (Aug 5), who has described the riots as “extreme right-wing thuggery”, said the government would deploy a “standing army” of specialist police officers to quell the unrest.
But the government is also calling on social media companies such as Mr Musk’s X, formerly known as Twitter, to do more to tackle the spread of misleading and inflammatory information online.
Ms Alexander said on Tuesday that the Government would consider strengthening the existing Online Safety Act, which was approved last year and will not be fully implemented until 2025.
“We are working with social media companies, and the steps they have taken to automatically remove some misinformation are to be welcomed,” Ms Alexander said. BBC“But there is undoubtedly more that social media companies can and should do.”
Such rhetoric may have triggered Mr Musk’s attacks on the government. Mr Musk has taken a more aggressive stance toward his critics than many Silicon Valley technology firms, said Alex Krasodomsky, who studies the intersection between technology and politics at Chatham House, a London-based think tank.
“In the past he has debated with UK and EU policymakers when they questioned his approach to content moderation on the platform,” Mr Krasodomsky said.
X did not respond to an email seeking comment. It rarely responds to media requests.
Mr Musk has been embroiled in a debate about violence in Britain.
After Starmer posted a comment on X saying the government “would not tolerate attacks on mosques or Muslim communities”, Mr Musk responded with the question, “Shouldn’t you be concerned about attacks on all communities?”
Mr Musk attached a similar comment to a video he said showed a “Muslim patrol” attacking a pub in Birmingham, and highlighted the original post to his 193 million followers.
Stephanie Ellis Baker, a sociologist at City University of London who has studied online discussion, said such comments are a longstanding habit of Mr Musk, who has a history of making inflammatory statements. Mr Musk often comments on geopolitical issues and his fans defend him when he is criticised, Ms Baker said.
Earlier this year, he clashed with a Brazilian Supreme Court judge over freedom of expression, far-right accounts and alleged misinformation on X. He also accused Venezuela’s socialist President Nicolas Maduro of “massive electoral fraud” after last week’s disputed election.
Ms. Baker said her comments are closely watched by a group of people attracted by her success in business.
He said, “Mr Musk’s followers represent the cult of the entrepreneur…” “By questioning convention, they are depicted as brilliant visionaries who can predict the future and make it happen. To his fans and followers, Mr Musk’s impulsive comments are seen as part of his genius.”