Elon Musk poses a threat to European democracy, – Financial Times

Elon Musk has begun to actively interfere in the internal affairs of various European countries and the UK.

Billionaire and ally of US President-elect Donald Trump, Elon Musk, poses a threat to European democracy by using his social network X (Twitter) to smear politicians he dislikes and promote far-right views, according to journalists from the Financial Times.

At the same time, Meta CEO (Facebook, Instagram) Mark Zuckerberg reportedly puts “freedom of speech” above independent fact-checking on his platforms. The media writes that European leaders may now fear that if they enter into conflict with American billionaires, trying to “protect their democracies”, they may face retaliation from the White House.

Thanks to his wealth and reach on Twitter, Musk has a power that is reinforced by his closeness to Trump. He recently endorsed the far-right AfD party ahead of the German election and falsely accused British Prime Minister Keir Starmer of “complicity in mass rape” — a reference to a decade-old scandal involving child sex gangs, the report says.

Zuckerberg, for his part, has yet to use his platforms to promote his own or extremist views, but it already looks like a failed attempt to curry favor with Trump after past incidents, the journalists note. In addition to clearly agreeing with Musk's idea of ​​”free speech,” the Meta boss said he would work with the incoming president to confront “institutionalized censorship” of online platforms in Europe.

As the publication states, democratic leaders in Europe and elsewhere should avoid a panicked reaction that plays into Musk's hands. Moreover, there are “splitting cracks” in the Trump coalition that will weaken Musk's influence and reduce the risks for politicians trying to contain him.

“European leaders must make it clear that there are rules by which Musk and Zuckerberg's networks must play. The EU's Digital Services Act and the UK's Internet Safety Act threaten large online platforms that fail to crack down on illegal content, including forms of disinformation, with heavy fines,” the FT writes.