The Keir Starmer-led British government on Tuesday called on Elon Musk to act responsibly after the Tesla CEO used his social media platform X to unleash a barrage of posts about the protests that have been plaguing UK.
“Civil war is inevitable,” Elon Musk had posted on X. His consequent posts further questioned the current government, on why all communities are not protected in Britain. Musk even shared a meme, and used the hashtag ‘TwoTierKeir’ on his other posts, highlighting complaints that the British criminal justice system treats a community more leniently than far-right activists.
Justice Minister Heidi Alexander called out Musk’s posts, reported the AP. “Use of language such as a ‘civil war’ is in no way acceptable,’’ Alexander told Times Radio.
The Justice Minister further noted that everyone handling a social media platform should act responsibly. “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,’’ said Alexander, reported the AP.
Britain’s government has been calling upon social media companies, such as Musk’s X, to help combat the spread of misleading information online.
“We’ve been working with the social media companies, and some of the action that they’ve taken already with the automatic removal of some false information is to be welcomed,” Alexander told the BBC. “But there is undoubtedly more that the social media companies could and should be doing,” added Alexander.
Britain violence
Several parts of the UK, including Plymouth and Belfast have been plagued by violence over a week, after unrest began following the incident of right-wing activists using social media to spread misinformation about a knife attack that killed three girls during a Taylor Swift-themed dance event on July 29.
Musk has taken a more combative approach to his critics than was the norm in Silicon Valley technology firms, said Alex Krasodomski, a fellow at a London-based think tank, AP reported.