Elon Musk Deletes Tweet Promoting Conspiracy Theory About UK Building “Detainment Camps” on Falkland Islands
Tech billionaire Elon Musk recently found himself in hot water after sharing a fake image on X, formerly Twitter, promoting a conspiracy theory about the UK building “detainment camps” on the Falkland Islands for rioters. The image, which was doctored to look like it came from the Daily Telegraph website, was originally posted by Ashlea Simon, the co-leader of the far-right Britain First party.
The post garnered over 1.7 million views before it was eventually taken down, with both Musk’s and Simon’s posts being removed. The Telegraph has clarified that they did not publish any such article and have requested that the post be removed from relevant platforms.
This incident is just the latest in a series of controversial interventions from Musk since the unrest began, with some of his actions being directly condemned by the prime minister. The role of social media platforms, including X, in the dissemination of misinformation during times of crisis is under intense scrutiny, with the government and media regulator urging greater action from them.
Musk has not publicly acknowledged his involvement in sharing and deleting the post, and the BBC has reached out to X for comment on the matter. Before the post was removed, comments under Musk’s post compared the UK to a fascist state, adding fuel to the fire of the ongoing unrest in England and Northern Ireland.
The government and Ofcom are pushing for social media companies to take more responsibility for their role in spreading misinformation, with the media regulator set to receive enhanced powers under the Online Safety Act by 2025 to combat such posts. Musk has previously engaged in controversial discussions on X, including questioning the prime minister’s focus on attacks on mosques and Muslim communities.
Before Musk acquired Twitter in 2022, Britain First had been banned from the platform for hate speech violations. However, Musk lifted the ban after taking over, citing his opposition to censorship that goes beyond legal boundaries. This move allowed far-right figures, including Britain First members, to return to the platform.
Despite X’s “community notes” feature, which allows users to partially verify the authenticity of posts, no such notes appeared under Musk’s post before it was deleted. It took nearly 10 hours for a community note to appear under the original post shared by Ashlea Simon, raising questions about the effectiveness of the platform’s moderation efforts.
