Elon Musk's latest obsession with UK politics is fueled by a series of popular accounts on his social media platform X, which the billionaire appears to be turning to for information about the grooming gang scandal and Sir Keir Starmer's record as attorney general.
An analysis of the businessman's feeds by the Financial Times found that Musk – whose attacks on the British Prime Minister and senior politicians have become more harsh over the past week – has amplified or responded to a handful of widely publicized X accounts about the handling of the matter. One of the historical sexual crimes in the country.
These include Viségrad 24 — an account with more than 1.2 million followers run by Stefan Thompson, a Polish South African born in Britain — social media personality Mario Novell, and Malaysian influencer Ian Miles Cheong, along with several less popular accounts with Right-wing, allegedly based in the United States. UK.
Posts from accounts that Musk dealt with blamed… “British political elite” To cover up the scandal, he pointed out “Horrific failures“By the Public Prosecution, claiming that they”She turned a blind eye to the rape of children“.
The accounts cited excerpts from british newspaper reports, It summarizes the results of previous investigations into the issue, often without linking to the source material or providing additional context.
As they highlighted Isolated corridors From a book called Easy Meat: Multiculturalism, Islam, and Child Sexual Slaverywithout naming the post. One post linked Samantha Smith, a Telford survivor, testified that British police asked her if she consented to sexual activity, even though she was five years old when she was first abused.
The posts appear to have encouraged Musk — who has more than 211 million followers on The perpetrators are of Pakistani origin.
Musk's posts on the grooming scandal have risen to the top of the UK news agenda and led to renewed calls for action, as Conservative MPs try to force a vote on whether to launch a new investigation. Professor Alexis JayThe head of the original investigation was called in saying it would be better to actually implement the recommended measures.
Musk, the world's richest man, did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
Novel posted on Saturday that Phillips had “stalled a wider investigation into rape gangs in Oldham,” to which Musk responded by calling her a “wicked witch.” Him too He replied To a previous post by the influencer — who frequently jumps on important news developments and whom Musk has long engaged with — who claimed that “cultural sensitivities” were prioritized over the pursuit of justice, calling the alleged cover-up “unconscionable.”
Last week, Musk reposted Novel nearly 40 times. The 53-year-old billionaire posted or reposted 616 times on X during the same period, at least 225 of which were about UK politics, according to a Financial Times analysis as of Wednesday morning. Including replies, he posted more than 1,180 times in seven days.
Musk, who has spent more than $250 million supporting Donald Trump's campaign, has been a near-constant presence at the president-elect's Mar-a-Lago home over the past two months, joining calls with world leaders and criticizing world governments. Germany and Canada.
He claimed that Starmer, the former Director of Public Prosecutions for England and Wales, was “deeply complicit in gang rapes in exchange for votes”.
The king also called for the dissolution of parliament and calling for new elections.
One person who interacted with Musk this week said he did not rely on conversations with a British source for his information, but preferred to do his own research online. Others previously close to the billionaire said they believe his anger was largely driven by posts from social media accounts that Musk doesn't follow directly, but which appear in his algorithmically curated “For You” feed on X.
Questions about which individuals or organizations are coloring Musk's stance on the UK government have also preoccupied some British officials.
Many believe that a small group of conservative-leaning British commentators and analysts based in the United States are shaping views of the United Kingdom among the broader environment of Trump's allies.
“There is a large right-wing network of libertarian British immigrants in the US who are fueling a lot of this,” one British government official said, adding that they are free speech advocates linked to right-wing US think tanks that present an image of the UK as “woke Uber.”
They include Douglas Murray, a neocon author who has written books on Western decline and “Islamophobia,” which Musk has referenced in tweets about the grooming scandal, and Niall Gardiner, director of the Margaret Thatcher Freedom Center in the capital, officials said. – Heritage Foundation.
A second British official said the growth of Islam in the UK was another major topic pushed by influential British commentators based in the US, highlighting that British media stories last month about “Muhammad” becoming the most popular boy’s name in England and Wales had been circulating. On a large scale. Among Maga characters on X and other social media sites.
Last week, Musk also amplified posts about the grooming scandal by former Prime Minister Liz Truss, former Labor MP Kate Hoey, former reformist politician Ben Habib and people linked to GB News. He amplified many of the contributions of reformist MP Robert Lowe, who has suggested he could replace Nigel Farage as party leader.
But Musk also endorsed posts from smaller accounts, including some supporters of far-right figure Tommy Robinson, who claimed Starmer “He has no sympathy at all for the English working class.”among other claims. Musk doesn't appear to be following any of the calculations.
The The more Musk engages with UK-related content from far-right or niche sources, the more similar content he will be shown on his For You page, according to experts.
“It seems that Musk has become the first technology leader to fall into the pit of extremism with his own product,” said Bruce Daisley, former head of Twitter operations in Europe, the Middle East and Africa.
TikTok, which also has a version of an algorithmically curated “For You” page, “is more optimized to fun, surprise and entertain,” he said. He added that Musk “is simultaneously saying 'let's spread more positive things' and then retweeting extremists from Britain First and Tommy Robinson.”
Dr. Jane Golbeck, a professor at the University of Maryland, College Park, who focuses on social media and extremism, said the ease with which users can pay for Which spreads inaccurate information.
“On the algorithmic side, I think the really important feature is the blue check boost,” she said, referring to X users who have a subscription to X Premium, which is indicated by a blue tick on their profiles. Golbeck added that Musk's change to the X-verification process means he is more likely to see posts from people who “share his increasingly extremist ideology.”
Musk said on Tuesday that he had a personal reason to be interested in the United Kingdom, explaining that his British grandmother, Cora Amelia Robinson, “grew up very poor in England” and was important to him as a child.
“My grandmother was one of the poor, working-class girls who had no one to protect her and who may have been kidnapped in present-day Britain,” Musk said.
