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Associated Press

The British government has called on Elon Musk to act responsibly after the tech billionaire used his social media platform X to unleash a barrage of posts that officials say risk inflaming the violent unrest gripping the country.
Justice Minister Heidi Alexander made the comments Tuesday morning after Musk posted a comment saying that “Civil war is inevitable” in the UK.
Musk later doubled down, highlighting complaints that the British criminal justice system treats Muslims more leniently than far-right activists and comparing Britain’s crackdown on social media users to the Soviet Union.
“Use of language such as a ‘civil war’ is in no way acceptable,” Alexander told Times Radio. “We are seeing police officers being seriously injured, buildings set alight, and so I really do think that everyone who has a platform should be exercising their power responsibly.”

Britain has been shaken by violence for more than a week, as police clashed with crowds spouting anti-immigrant and Islamophobic slogans in cities and towns from Northern Ireland to the south coast of England.
The unrest began after right-wing activists used social media to spread misinformation about a knife attack that killed three girls during a Taylor Swift-themed dance event on July 29.
Prime Minister Keir Starmer, who has described the riots as “far-right thuggery”, said after an emergency meeting with law enforcement officials and government ministers Tuesday that perpetrators will swiftly be punished.
More than 400 people have been arrested due to violence in more than two dozen towns and cities and about 100 have been charged, after Starmer announced plans to ramp up the criminal justice system.
An 18-year-old man who trashed police cars in Bolton, in northern England, on Sunday was believed to be the first person sentenced in the unrest. James Nelson got a two-month prison term Tuesday after pleading guilty in Manchester Magistrates’ Court to criminal damage, police said.
“That should send a very powerful message to anybody involved, either directly or online, that you are likely to be dealt with within a week and that nobody, but nobody, should be involving themselves in this disorder,” Starmer said.
Starmer deflected questions from reporters about Musk, saying his focus was on keeping communities safe.
The government is calling on social media companies, such as Musk’s X, formerly known as Twitter, to do more to combat the spread of misleading and inflammatory information online.

Alexander said Tuesday that the government would look at strengthening the existing Online Safety Act, which was approved last year and won’t be fully implemented until 2025.
“We’ve been working with the social media companies, and some of the action that they’ve taken already with the automatic removal of some false information is to be welcomed,” Alexander told the BBC. “But there is undoubtedly more that the social media companies could and should be doing.”
That type of rhetoric may be part of what sparked Musk’s attack on the government. Musk has taken a more combative approach to his critics than was the norm in Silicon Valley technology firms, said Alex Krasodomski, who studies the intersection between technology and politics at Chatham House, a London-based think tank.
“He has sparred with UK and EU policymakers in the past when they have questioned his approaches to content moderation on the platform,” Krasodomski said.
X didn’t respond to an email seeking comment. It rarely responds to media requests.
Musk just kept wading into the debate about the violence in Britain.
After Starmer posted a comment on X saying that the government “will not tolerate attacks on mosques or on Muslim communities,” Musk responded with the question, “Shouldn’t you be concerned about attacks on *all* communities?”
Musk attached a similar comment to a video that said it showed a “Muslim patrol” attacking a pub in Birmingham, highlighting the original post for his 193 million followers.

Why aren’t all communities protected in Britain? @Keir_Starmer https://t.co/gldyguysNe
— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) August 6, 2024

Such comments are vintage Musk, who has a history of making provocative statements, said Stephanie Alice Baker, a sociologist at City University of London who has studied online discourse. Musk frequently comments on geopolitical issues and his fans come to his defence when he is criticised, Baker said.
Earlier this year, he clashed with a Brazilian supreme court justice over free speech, far-right accounts and purported misinformation on X. He also accused Venezuela’s socialist president, Nicolas Maduro, of “major election fraud” after last week’s disputed election.
Those comments are closely watched by a group of people attracted by his success in business, Baker said.
“Musk’s following represents the cult of the entrepreneur …” she said. “By questioning convention, they are depicted as gifted visionaries, who can predict the future and bring it into being. For his fans and followers, Musk’s impulsive comments are perceived as part of his genius.”
Additional reporting by Agence France-Presse


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Britain

UK government calls on Elon Musk to act responsibly after provocative posts on riots

Elon Musk, owner of X, formerly known as Twitter. File photo: Twitter

Police detain a protester in Weymouth, England on August 4. Photo: AFP

Members of the local community gather before helping to clear debris from the streets in Middlesbrough, northeast England on August 5, following rioting. Photo: AFP

UK examines role of foreign states, criticises Elon Musk for ‘civil war’ post as riots rage

A police officer clashes with a protestor outside a hotel in Rotherham, Britain, on Sunday. Photo: Reuters

Demonstrators outside the Holiday Inn Express in Rotherham, Britain, on Sunday. Photo: Up North – Yorkshire Live & Breaking News Telegraph/via Reuters

Restaurant owner Luqman Khan clears debris from the street in front of his restaurant in Middlesbrough, north east England, following rioting. Photo: AFP

UK’s Starmer talks of ‘standing army’ of police, vows ‘swift criminal sanctions’ for rioters

A car burns on Parliament Road in Middlesbrough during an anti-immigration demonstration at the weekend. Photo: PA Wire / dpa

Britain’s Prime Minister Keir Starmer. Photo: AP

A firework is thrown towards police during an anti-immigration demonstration in Rotherham, South Yorkshire on Sunday after a knife attack on children in Southport on July 29. Photo: dpa

People clean up outside the Holiday Inn Express hotel on Monday after rioters attacked the building in Rotherham, England, at the weekend. Photo: Reuters

Flowers and toys are placed at a memorial in Southport, England, after three young girls were killed in a knife attack at a Taylor Swift-themed holiday club on July 29. Photo: AP

Members of the local community help to clear debris from the streets in Middlesbrough, England on Monday following rioting and looting the day before. Photo: AFP

UK’s Starmer condemns attack on asylum seeker hotel as far-right violence spreads

Protestors throw a garbage bin on fire outside a hotel in Rotherham, Britain. Photo: Reuters

The violence is the worst in England in more than a decade. Photo: Reuters

Scenes outside the hotel in Rotherham. Photo: Reuters

A car burns during an anti-immigration protest in Middlesbrough, England. Photo: PA via AP

UK police warn far-right street violence drains resources for investigating other crimes

Anti-fascism protesters gesture at people who had gathered for the ‘Enough is Enough’ demonstration called by far-right activists in Bristol on Saturday. Photo: AFP

Mounted riot police stand on duty outside a hotel housing asylum seekers to protect the premises from the ‘Enough is Enough’ demonstration called by far-right activists in Bristol on Saturday. Photo: AFP

News

World

Europe

Provocative tech billionaire Elon Musk and UK government spar as violent far-right riots grip the country


Provocative tech billionaire Elon Musk has weighed in on the unrest in the UK, drawing condemnation from the British government.
