World's first trillionaire Musk under fire over Belfast riots

Elon Musk, recently declared the world's first trillionaire, is facing renewed criticism following anti-immigrant riots in Belfast. Researchers from the Center for Countering Digital Hate (CCDH) reported that violent narratives amplified by Musk on his platform X have amassed millions of views, contributing to the unrest.

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Only by protesting REPEATEDLY and LOUDLY will there be any change.

The clashes in Belfast erupted after a knife attack on Monday, for which a Sudanese national, Hadi Alodid, was charged with attempted murder. Musk amplified calls for protests across Britain from anti-immigration activist Tommy Robinson, urging his 240 million followers on X to protest "REPEATEDLY and LOUDLY" for change. He also boosted anti-immigration posts and messages from Rupert Lowe, leader of the fringe hard-right party Restore Britain.

According to the CCDH report, posts from these three individuals concerning Belfast collectively garnered over 115 million views across their accounts. Musk alone accounted for 55 percent of this total, contributing 64 million views. Imran Ahmed, CCDH's founder and chief executive, stated that Musk's amplification was instrumental. "As the owner of X and its most-followed user, Musk has unparalleled power to shape what people see online," Ahmed said. "With that power comes responsibility for the content and conduct his platform promotes."

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Musk’s amplification has been instrumental.

Ahmed further criticized Musk's actions, stating, "Yet our research shows that he used the Belfast tragedy to amplify anti-migrant narratives to millions of users, prompting endless calls for violence." He added, "While communities dealt with the consequences of brutality and disorder, no individual played a bigger role in spreading this content on X than Musk himself." The report also noted an "explosion in calls for violence" in the responses to the trio's posts, with over 3,900 comments advocating for lynchings and other crimes against immigrants. Notably, two-thirds of these calls appeared in replies to Robinson's posts.

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As the owner of X and its most-followed user, Musk has unparalleled power to shape what people see online. With that power comes responsibility for the content and conduct his platform promotes.

Robinson, whose real name is Stephen Yaxley-Lennon, had his X account reinstated after Musk's 2022 acquisition of the platform, previously known as Twitter. This reinstatement, along with others accused of spreading misinformation or hate speech, has drawn scrutiny. The CCDH research comes as Britain's media watchdog Ofcom has warned of increased risks associated with such content.

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Yet our research shows that he used the Belfast tragedy to amplify anti-migrant narratives to millions of users, prompting endless calls for violence.