Elon Musk fumes after Keir Starmer blasts his 'civil war' comment over UK riots: 'Shouldn't you be…'
Elon Musk and UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer have engaged in heated exchange after the billionaire claimed that the United Kingdom is heading for “civil war”.
Elon Musk and UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer have engaged in heated exchange after the billionaire claimed that the United Kingdom is heading for “civil war”.
The CEO of Tesla escalated the row with Downing Street over the violence and unrest engulfing the United Kingdom, amid concerns that internet misinformation is escalating the turmoil.
Musk has expressed his views at least twice since chaos erupted following the deaths of three girls by stabbing in Southport, northwest England, on July 29.
Taking to his social media platform X, Musk responded to a video showing UK rioters in the setting off fireworks at police. “Civil war is inevitable,” he wrote.
Musk claps back at UK PM for denouncing his comment
Musk's comments were immediately denounced by the PM's spokesperson, who said there is “no justification for comments like that” and “anyone who is whipping up violence online will face the full force of the law.”
{{/usCountry}}Musk's comments were immediately denounced by the PM's spokesperson, who said there is “no justification for comments like that” and “anyone who is whipping up violence online will face the full force of the law.”
{{/usCountry}}“We’re talking about a minority of thugs that do not speak for Britain, and in response to it, we’ve seen some of the best of our communities coming out to clean up the mess and disruption.”
{{/usCountry}}“We’re talking about a minority of thugs that do not speak for Britain, and in response to it, we’ve seen some of the best of our communities coming out to clean up the mess and disruption.”
{{/usCountry}}However, Musk did not stop there as he went on to comment on PM Keir's social media post, which criticised violence against Muslims.
{{/usCountry}}However, Musk did not stop there as he went on to comment on PM Keir's social media post, which criticised violence against Muslims.
{{/usCountry}}The UK PM wrote on X that the unrest “is not protest, it is pure violence”, adding: “We will not tolerate attacks on mosques or on Muslim communities”.
{{/usCountry}}The UK PM wrote on X that the unrest “is not protest, it is pure violence”, adding: “We will not tolerate attacks on mosques or on Muslim communities”.
{{/usCountry}}“Shouldn't you be concerned about attacks on *all* communities?” Musk asked.
UK stabbing attack: Police charge 17-year-old with murder of three girls
Elsie Dot Stancombe,7, Alice Dasilva Aguiar,9, and Bebe King, 6, were killed in a knife attack in the Merseyside town last Monday. Following this, police arrested Axel Rudakubana on the charges of the murder of three young girls and ten counts of attempted murder.
At least 400 people have been taken into custody since the chaos erupted on Tuesday.
Nigeria, Malaysia, and Indonesia are among the nations that have issued safety advisories to their people in the UK in response to the ongoing riots.
The false information on the internet stated that the detained person was a Muslim immigrant who entered the UK on a tiny boat last year.
Also Read: Elon Musk's X is closing San Francisco office where Twitter was founded in 2006
Rudakubana, the son of Rwandan parents, was born in Cardiff before relocating to a village located close to Southport.
Contentious influencer Andrew Tate furthered the erroneous narrative by claiming that the perpetrator was a “illegal migrant.” The protestors have targeted mosques and hotels that house asylum seekers.
The controversy could jeopardize government attempts to force social media companies to shoulder more of the burden of eliminating offensive content from their platforms that is believed to be fueling some of the violence.
On Monday night, Technology Secretary Peter Kyle met Tiktok, Meta, Google, and X executives “to make clear their responsibility to continue to work with us to stop the spread of hateful misinformation and incitement.”
