Elon Musk recently became the world’s first trillionaire, but the owner of SpaceX, Tesla and X is being called out not just for his wealth accumulation but for how he uses his social media platform. Specifically, Musk is being partially blamed for stoking the flames of a series of anti-immigrant riots that have broken out in Northern Ireland.
Anti-immigrant riots in Belfast follow viral video of attack by Sudanese refugee
The city of Belfast has seen xenophobic riots specifically targeting Black immigrants in the capital of Northern Ireland, which is part of the United Kingdom.
The anti-immigrant violence came in response to a viral video that appears to show a Black man, believed to be an immigrant, brutally attacking a white Irish man and appearing to attempt to behead him with a knife.
Thirty-year-old Hadi Alodid, originally from Sudan but granted asylum to live in the United Kingdom, was arrested for the attack and has been charged with several crimes, including attempted murder.
The victim, Stephen Ogilvie, reportedly lost an eye and suffered deep cuts to his face from the attack.
After video of the attack was posted on social media last Monday, online comments targeting immigrants led to rioters attacking vehicles and immigrants’ homes, including various incidents of arson.
As inflammatory social media posts are being blamed for stoking the violence in Belfast, Musk has repeatedly posted and reshared such posts to his 240 million followers on X.
This includes sharing a post by controversial British anti-immigrant activist Tommy Robinson declaring that Brits were “hitting the streets tonight at 7 p.m. following yet another invader attack on our people.”
Musk shared the post with his own caption: “Only by protesting REPEATEDLY and LOUDLY will there be any change!!“
Among other posts reshared by Musk was a “White Lives Matter” image.
Musk, with a history of problematic racial statements, stands by inflammatory posts
Even after being criticized, Musk doubled down, posting, “Murderous migrants beheading innocent people in their home town is what’s making people angry, not ‘social media’!”
Amid the violence, Musk also shared posts by the far-right, anti-immigrant party Restore Britain.
In one of the posts shared by Musk, British MP and Restore Britain leader Rupert Lowe claims, “Britain doesn’t have a racism problem, it has an immigration problem.”
Musk has additionally shared posts about other crimes reportedly committed by immigrants in the U.K.
He also shared a post by The Babylon Bee, a right-wing satirical site, that commented on the conviction of Karmelo Anthony, sarcastically claiming, “Karmelo Kicking Himself For Not Converting To Islam And Stabbing Someone In The UK Instead.”
Musk, who frequently posts on the social media site formerly known as Twitter and who recently became the world’s first trillionaire, has been criticized for using his wealth and influence to push right-wing agendas and racially problematic ideologies.
He has frequently pushed the unfounded narrative that the government of his native South Africa has been targeting white South Africans with genocidal violence.
Musk also recently criticized director Christopher Nolan for casting Lupita Nyong’o as Helen of Troy in the upcoming adaptation of The Odyssey.
As Musk celebrates his financial milestone, he has continued to push far-right and racist narratives online. As Britain wrestles with its immigration policies and deals with racism and xenophobia in Northern Ireland and elsewhere throughout the country, Musk and the right-wing voices he supports seem poised to continue stoking fear and hatred in order to push their anti-immigrant agendas.
