Newly minted trillionaire Musk under fire over Belfast riots

WASHINGTON: Elon Musk, newly crowned the world’s first trillionaire, faced renewed criticism Friday over anti-immigrant riots in Belfast after researchers said violent narratives he amplified on his platform X amassed millions of views.

Clashes broke out in the Northern Irish capital after a brutal knife attack on Monday, with police charging a Sudanese national named Hadi Alodid with attempted murder.

Musk amplified calls for protest across Britain from anti-immigration activist Tommy Robinson and wrote to his 240 million followers on X: “Only by protesting REPEATEDLY and LOUDLY will there be any change.”

He also boosted anti-immigration posts and messages from Rupert Lowe, leader of the fringe hard-right party Restore Britain, extending his reach to millions of users on the platform.

Researchers from the non-profit tech watchdog Center for Countering Digital Hate (CCDH) reported that the trio’s posts about Belfast collectively garnered more than 115 million views across their accounts, with Musk accounting for 55% of the total.

“Musk’s amplification has been instrumental,” contributing 64 million views, CCDH said in a report.

“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,” said Imran Ahmed, CCDH’s founder and chief executive.

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

“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,” Ahmed added.

X did not immediately respond to AFP’s request for comment.

Robinson – whose real name is Stephen Yaxley-Lennon – was formerly banned from X.

His account was reinstated – along with several other influencers accused of peddling misinformation or hate speech – following Musk’s 2022 acquisition of the platform, previously known as Twitter.

Researchers say that Musk has also expanded Lowe’s reach by amplifying his speeches in recent weeks and posting that only his party can “save Britain”.

CCDH said it identified an “explosion in calls for violence” in the responses to the trio’s posts about the Belfast unrest, with more than 3,900 comments advocating lynchings and other crimes against immigrants.

Two-thirds of the calls for violence appeared in replies to Robinson’s posts, it added.

The research comes after Britain’s media watchdog Ofcom warned of the increased risk of online platforms being used to “stir up hatred, provoke violence and commit other offences under UK law”.

The findings coincided with a milestone for Musk, who became the world’s first trillionaire on Friday after shares of his other company, SpaceX, soared following its Wall Street trading debut.

The blockbuster initial public offering, the biggest in history, raised more than US$75 billion.