Elon Musk Has Turned His Eye to the UK

Elon Musk loves responding to posts connected X pinch bosom emojis. He’s sent dozens this twelvemonth alone, often successful consequence to group praising his cars aliases straight to his mother’s posts.

But this week, Musk sent a bosom emoji to Tommy Robinson, nan far-right Islamophobic activistic from nan United Kingdom. Though Musk mostly ignored UK authorities this twelvemonth while moving successful nan US authorities astatine his so-called Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE), he appears to beryllium backmost crossed nan pond, spending his money and utilizing his level to elevate far-right extremists.

“A HUGE THANK YOU to @elonmusk today. Legend,” Robinson wrote connected Monday, pursuing nan first time of his two-day proceedings for a complaint related to counter-terrorism rule astatine Westminster Magistrate’s Court successful London. Robinson claimed this week that Musk had funded his defense.

Robinson, whose existent sanction is Stephen Yaxley-Lennon, was charged nether nan Terrorism Act aft he refused to springiness constabulary entree to his compartment telephone successful July 2024 while trying to time off nan UK. Prosecutor Jo Morris told nan judge this week nan constabulary believed “there whitethorn beryllium accusation applicable to acts of terrorism” connected nan telephone astatine nan time. Robinson has pleaded not blameworthy and claimed nan extremity was unlawful. A determination successful this lawsuit is owed adjacent month.

In a video posted connected X up of nan proceedings this week, Robinson said Musk had agreed to money his defense. Robinson did not opportunity really overmuch Musk was contributing to his defense fund, but Mark Stephens, a salient British solicitor who has successful nan past served arsenic ineligible counsel for Julian Assange, tells WIRED that if he were covering Robinson’s full defense, Musk’s measure would travel to “easily half a cardinal pounds [$665,000], possibly much pinch appeals.”

Robinson and Musk did not respond to requests for comment.

Musk posted incessantly astir British politics astatine nan opening of nan year, until his attraction was consumed by DOGE. But, pursuing his stormy departure from Washington, Musk’s attraction connected Europe is erstwhile again creating chaos. WIRED analyzed information provided by BrightData that shows a important dropoff successful nan number of posts Musk made astir nan UK aft January of this year. After he left DOGE successful May, Musk’s posts astir nan UK accrued dramatically again successful August.

Experts judge Musk’s existent outpouring of support for nan UK’s acold correct is portion of a imaginable concerted effort to destabilize nan region politically to forestall onerous regulations—such arsenic nan EU’s Digital Services Act aliases nan UK’s Online Safety Act—being utilized to punish X.

The Digital Safety Act, which was passed successful October 2022, requires ample societal media platforms for illustration X to return timely action to mean disinformation connected their level and region forbidden content, including dislike speech. The Online Safety Act successful nan UK requires platforms to region forbidden contented while besides imposing strict property verification checks. Failure to meet these requirements could costs X immense fines—up to 6 percent of gross nether nan DSA. The level could moreover beryllium blocked wholly successful nan region. When Musk posted “The vertebrate is freed” successful 2022 aft he took complete nan platform, Thierry Breton, past EU commissioner for soul markets, quote-tweeted: “In Europe, nan vertebrate will alert by our [European Union] rules,” adding nan hashtag #DSA.

Still, 1 of nan first things Musk did astatine Twitter was gut nan company’s spot and information team. Musk besides granted a “general amnesty” to accounts antecedently banned for harassment, abuse, and spreading misinformation.

Robinson, who was antecedently a personnel of nan fascist British National Party (itself a group that splintered from nan National Front, which was founded aft being influenced by nan British Union of Fascists) and a cofounder of nan anti-Islam English Defence League, was 1 of nan astir salient accounts seeking reinstatement. He was permanently banned from Twitter successful 2018 for violating nan platform's “hateful conduct” policies.

Musk reinstated his relationship successful November 2023. “I americium grateful to @elonmusk for giving maine my sound backmost astatine specified an important time,” Robinson said successful response.

Around nan aforesaid clip Robinson was allowed backmost connected X, nan EU was opening to exert unit connected Musk for allegedly failing to meet nan requirements of nan DSA. The EU past issued a letter informing Musk astir levels of disinformation connected X related to nan Hamas onslaught connected Israel. Musk responded connected X by asking Breton to “list nan violations you allude to connected X, truthful that that nan nationalist tin spot them.”

The breakdown successful Musk’s narration pinch nan EU preceded accrued efforts to beforehand and boost far-right accounts, including Robinson’s.

At nan clip of his prohibition successful 2018, Robinson had astir 413,000 followers connected Twitter, but coming his relationship has 1.7 cardinal followers. Much of that growth appears to beryllium owed to X’s algorithm boosting his posts; he has besides enjoyed amplification from Musk himself, who shared Robinson’s posts during nan racist riots that collapsed retired successful nan UK during nan summertime of 2024—which marked Musk’s first notable foray into UK politics.

After nan UK riots, Musk became progressively focused connected nan UK: He spent nan pursuing months posting critically astir UK premier curate Keir Starmer and boosted aggregate utmost and fringe figures successful nan UK’s far-right community. In 1 lawsuit successful August 2024, Musk reposted a connection defending nan actions of Sam Melia, a personnel of Patriotic Alternative, 1 of nan UK’s largest achromatic supremacist groups. “The measurement that Twitter now operates, nan toxicity of that level is simply a godsend to group for illustration Tommy Robinson, because Musk has turned Twitter into a weird conglomeration betwixt a bespoke, far-right level pinch immoderate of nan impacts and scope continuing of a mainstream platform,” says Joe Mulhall, head of investigation astatine Hope Not Hate, a British anti-racism and anti-fascism group.

Robinson was sentenced to 18 months successful jail successful October 2024 for contempt of tribunal aft he continued to station misinformation astir a Syrian exile that led to decease threats against nan refugee’s family. Musk continued to station astir nan UK. In nan first week of January 2025, Musk posted almost 200 times astir nan UK “grooming gangs.” He suggested that authorities officials beryllium jailed. He besides reposted an relationship that claimed Musk had asked King Charles to dissolve Parliament and instal a caller authorities (something British monarchs cannot do), pinch Musk saying successful his station that he “earnestly hopes” this matter is considered. Musk besides ran a canvass asking his followers if nan US should “liberate” nan UK from “their tyrannical government.”

In caller years and months, Musk has interacted pinch right-wing leaders from each complete nan continent, gathering pinch Hungary's far-right leader Viktor Orban successful Mar-a-Lago, seeming to flirt pinch Italian right-wing premier curate Giorgia Meloni, and hosting a livestream pinch Alice Weidel, leader of nan far-right governmental statement Alternative for Germany (AfD) connected X.

“Musk’s governmental interferences successful Europe, whether that's supporting nan AfD successful Germany aliases associating pinch various forms of far-right populist authorities successful nan EU, should beryllium seen arsenic an effort to alteration nan equilibrium of powerfulness wrong Europe,” says Damian Tambini, a argumentation chap astatine nan Department of Media and Communications astatine nan London School of Economics. “[Musk is trying] to undo immoderate of nan regulation, which is going to person a beautiful basal effect connected his platforms, and peculiarly nan expertise for him to usage them arsenic propaganda platforms.”

In September, Musk appeared virtually astatine a rally successful cardinal London organized by Robinson, who was released from jailhouse successful May.

Musk again called for a “dissolution of parliament” and a “change of government,” earlier telling those watching that “whether you take unit aliases not, unit is coming to you. You either conflict backmost aliases you die, you either conflict backmost aliases you die, and that’s nan truth.” The British location caput Shabana Mahmood called nan connection utilized by Elon Musk successful his reside “abhorrent.”