The British government has called on billionaire Elon Musk to use his social media platform responsibly after he posted comments that officials say risk inflaming the violent unrest gripping the country.
Justice Minister Heidi Alexander criticised Musk's posts, which included a comment saying "Civil war is inevitable" in the UK. Musk later highlighted perceived inequalities in the British criminal justice system and compared the government'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.''
For more than a week, violence has erupted in the United Kingdom, with police fighting with protesters chanting anti-immigrant and Islamophobic slogans. The unrest began after right-wing activists spread misinformation about a knife attack that killed three girls at a Taylor Swift-themed dance event on 29 July.
'Far-Right Thuggery'
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 culprits 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.
“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.
“There’s no justification for comments like that,” a spokesperson for Starmer told reporters. “What we’ve seen in this country is organised, violent thuggery that has no place, either on our streets or online. We’re talking about a minority of thugs that do not speak for Britain … I think you can tell from that that the prime minister does not share those sentiments.”
Elon Musk's Posts
Musk continued to engage in discussions over 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 (asterisk)all(asterisk) communities?”
Musk attached a similar comment to a video claiming to show a "Muslim patrol" attacking a Birmingham pub, promoting the original post for his 193 million followers.
This is not the first time Musk has been involved in controversy. 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, Nicolás Maduro, of "major election fraud" following last week's disputed vote.
