Information wars in the age of Musk: An invisible grip on British politics

As we continue to live in an era of so-called ‘post-truth’ politics, where people are struggling more and more to believe who speaks the truth in dizzying discourse, a powerful figure has emerged in Britain; an invisible wind attempting to topple over the proverbial table of British politics. Elon Musk, tech-savvy billionaire and owner of X, formerly Twitter, has, as the New York Times put it, “a strange fixation with trolling Britain.” Though Musk’s intentions are several and sometimes conflicting, the danger of giving such a distant, untouchable figure a booming megaphone across the Atlantic is undoubted.

Musk’s motivations appear to have some semblance. Given he has drawn gradually closer to right-wing populist movements, recognising their rise globally, including in online discourse, his new fixation may be beneficial to his business interests. Musk has delivered exaggerated support for right-wing rhetoric on X more than once, most notably during the Southport riots, claiming that “civil war was inevitable” in Britain, and that it was somehow turning into Soviet communism. Recently, following broad calls from right-wing opposition for a national-level investigation into grooming gangs, Musk went as far as to call the safeguarding minister a “rape genocide apologist.” These actions represent an interesting combination of ‘rage bait’ for his engagement and that of X, and repetition of talking points in the right-wing of British politics.

Starmer’s policies, despite his criticisms of Musk’s actions, are largely based on a business-friendly approach

Though why Britain in particular? It could be that Starmer is merely the easiest target for Musk to aim at: an Ipsos poll recently found a record-high 61% disapproval rate of Starmer, and his popularity has been on a continual decline since his landslide victory in the 2024 election, having only been sustained by high sentiment against the Tories. In addition, Starmer’s policies, despite his criticisms of Musk’s actions, are largely based on a business-friendly approach, exchanging overtly high public spending, for making the UK attractive to outside investment. Indeed, if Starmer were to fully ward off Musk, it might send a message to other prominent multinational corporations that Starmer is creating an unfriendly environment for outside business, pulling away a cornerstone of his economic philosophy in a struggling premiership. Musk, in a sense, almost has Starmer wrapped around his finger, exploiting his uncompromising centrism to freely bully him in the hopes that his weakness will give way to a friendlier government in 2029.

However, some of Musk’s comments seem to contradict such a conviction for a right-wing framework in Britain. Many were puzzled by Musk’s decision to call for Reform UK leader Nigel Farage to be replaced – Musk stated that Farage did not have “what it takes” due to his opposition to Musk’s plea for far-right activist Tommy Robinson to be released from prison. There are two possible views here: the fact that Musk is merely engaging in high-profile trolling for the sake of public engagement. By saying things that seem unusual, over the top, or otherwise, he gains more publicity and more engagement, countering both disinterest in him as a faraway corporate figure, and the plight of individuals moving to Bluesky, the emerging Musk-free alternative to X. However, a more niche view is that Musk is trying to legitimise Farage further. Farage has engaged in a campaign of trying to ‘professionalise’ Reform, moving his rhetoric away from the controversial aspects of the far-right’s views. Perhaps by forcing Farage to publicly declare opposition to the promotion of Robinson by a figure with such importance as Musk, he is granting legitimacy to Farage’s attempts to make Reform a more mainstream force in British politics. In this way, Musk’s influence may be an attempt to prevent the party from collapsing to the same reputation that UKIP garnered, of being too radical and unacceptable for electability.

Britain risks lapsing into what large portions of American political discourse have become: politically charged and exaggerated rhetoric

Underlying all of this is a real threat of Musk having a lack of accountability and a lack of connection to British politics. Our politicians might misrepresent us at times, and X’s reach might be global, but given that Musk is primarily concerned with running corporate ventures concentrated in the United States, it’s hard to believe he has the first-hand experience, both past and current, to be holding such legitimacy and sway in British political discourse. Musk’s exaggerated and provocative language falls outside the boundaries of what is usually accepted as moderated and civil discussion. Individuals like Lee Anderson have been immediately shot down for making such comments as London Mayor Sadiq Khan being controlled by “Islamists,” but Musk is protected by both a physical barrier to any kind of law enforcement or public scrutiny, along with the personal wealth and assets that will inevitably keep him afloat and well-off regardless of what he says.

Ultimately, suppose we let such people as Musk control our attention. In that case, Britain risks lapsing into what large portions of American political discourse have become: politically charged and exaggerated rhetoric, with no regard to the views or humanity on the other side, demonising them in a flurry of misinformation and complete lack of compromise. Musk is only right in one thing: inherent wrongs with British politics need to be fixed. Creating a minefield of uncertainty and hyperbole for personal gain, however, is far from the way to do it.