A number of X reports have sent Elon Musk down the ‘rabbit’ hole of UK politics

Elon Musk’s recent views on UK politics are being fueled by a series of popular reports on his X media platform, which the billionaire seems to be turning to for information on scandals- the disgrace of the cleaning groups and Sir Keir Starmer’s record as a prosecutor.

An analysis of the businessman’s feed by the Financial Times found that Musk – whose attacks on the British prime minister and senior politicians have become more threatening in the past week – added to or responded to a few reports of X has written a lot about dealing with it. of historical sex crimes in the country.

They include Viségrad 24 – an account with more than 1.2 million followers run by British-born Pole Stefan Tompson – social media personality Mario Nawfal, and Malaysian activist Ian Miles Cheong, as well as several accounts the less popular ones are said to be based in the UK.

Reports of reports that Musk is involved in blame the “British political leaders” for covering the defect, and it is said of “an alarming failure” by prosecutors, saying “he ignored the rape of the children“.

The reports quoted excerpts from the British newspaper reports, and summarizing the results of previous research on the subject, mostly without linking to the source or providing other context.

They also highlight marginal texts from a book called Soft Meat: Multiculturalism, Islam and Child Sex Slaverywithout mentioning the text. One post connected to testify the survivor of Telford, Samantha Smith, said that she was asked by the British police if she consented to sex, even though she was five years old when she was abused for the first time.

The footage appears to have prompted Musk – who has more than 211 million followers on X and has used his social media platform to support traditional cultural values ​​- to intensify his attacks on Starmer and UK defense minister Jess Phillips last week said they had failed to do so. hold the leaders of the prostitution rings in England accountable because the perpetrators were of Pakistani heritage.

Musk’s comments have lifted the grooming scandal to the top of the UK headlines and led to renewed calls for action, with Conservative MPs trying to force a vote on whether to launch a new investigation. Professor Alexis JayThe chairman of the preliminary investigation, has been withdrawn, saying that it would be better to implement the measures that have been recommended.

Musk, the world’s richest man, did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

On Saturday, Nawfal wrote that Phillips “has done extensive research into Oldham’s rape gangs”, to which Musk responded by calling him an “evil witch”. And him he replied In an earlier post by the activist – a frequent commentator and long-time collaborator of Musk – who said that “cultural sentiments” were taking precedence over the pursuit of justice, he called the issue called “indifference”.

In the past week, Musk has tweeted Nawfal nearly 40 times. The 53-year-old billionaire tweeted or tweeted 616 times on X during the same period, at least 225 of which were about UK politics, according to FT review from Wednesday morning. Including replies, he posted more than 1180 times in seven days.

Musk, who spent more than $250mn on Donald Trump’s campaign, has been staying at the president-elect’s Mar-a-Lago home for the past two months, from where he has engaged in phone calls with leaders of the world and criticized national governments. Germany and Canada.

He said Starmer, a former director of public prosecutions for England and Wales, had “engaged in a number of rapes in exchange for votes”.

He even asked the King to dissolve parliament and call for new elections.

One person who interacted with Musk this week said he did not rely on interviews with a UK source for his information, but preferred to do his research online. Others who were once close to the billionaire said they believed his anger was largely fueled by messages from social media accounts that Musk does not directly follow, but which appeared on ” your” arranged in the form of an “X”.

Questions about which people or organizations are making Musk take over the UK government are also worrying some British officials.

Many believe that a small group of commentators and analysts in Britain who are committed to maintaining US-based rules are shaping the opinion about the UK among the wider ranks of Trump’s allies.

“There is a right-wing network of UK émigrés in the United States who are feeding this heavily,” said one British government official, adding that it is the free speech advocates associated with the think tanks of the United States that produce the image. of the UK as “uber woke”.

The officials said they include Douglas Murray, a neoconservative author who has written books about the decline of the West and “Islamophilia,” who Musk has mentioned in tweets about the grooming scandal, and Nile Gardiner, director of the Margaret Thatcher Center. for Freedom in DC. -founded by the Heritage Foundation.

A second UK official said that the rise of Islam in the UK was another important topic being pushed by influential British commentators based in the United States, highlighting that UK media stories last month on “Muhammad” becoming the most popular boy’s name in England and Wales was widely shared. among Maga figures on X and other sites.

In the past week, Musk has also added to the claims about grooming made by former prime minister Liz Truss, former Labor MP Kate Hoey, former Reform politician Ben Habib and people associated with broadcaster GB News. He has been boosted by MP Rupert Lowe, who he has recommended to replace Nigel Farage as party leader.

But Musk also promoted messages from smaller accounts, including supporters of long-distance man Tommy Robinson, who said Starmer. “no sympathy at all for English workers”among other charges. None of the reports are being followed by Musk.

X allows users to switch between accounts they only follow, and an algorithm feed, called “For You”, which shows content that may match their interests and previous activities. As Musk continues to interact with news about the UK from remote or niche sources, he will be served more of the same content on his “For You” page, according to experts.

“It seems that Musk was the first technology leader to fall down the rabbit hole of changing his product,” said Bruce Daisley, the former head of Twitter’s operations in Europe, the Middle East and Africa.

He said that TikTok, which also has a version of the “For You” page of the algorithm “is highly optimized for fun, surprise and entertainment”. Meanwhile, Musk is “simultaneously saying ‘let’s announce some good stuff’ and retweeting fanatics from Britain First and Tommy Robinson,” he added.

Dr Jen Golbeck, a professor at the University of Maryland, College Park, who focuses on social media and extremism, said that the ease with which users can pay for the X subscription service, and as a result they stand out in the food of its users. a large part in the growth of accounts that post inaccurate content.

“On the algorithm side, I think the most important feature is to strengthen the blue checks,” he said, referring to X users who have signed up for X Premium, which is indicated by a blue icon on their profiles. The change in the X verification process for Musk meant that he could see messages from people who “share his growing views”, Golbeck added.

On Tuesday, Musk said he had a personal reason for being interested in the UK, writing that his British grandmother, Cora Amelia Robinson, “grew up very poor in England” and was important to him when when he was a child.

“My nana was one of those poor, homeless working girls who could have been kidnapped today in Britain,” Musk said.