Report Links Elon Musk to Viral Belfast Riot Narratives
Researchers tracking the online fallout from last week’s anti-immigrant riots in Belfast have placed Elon Musk at the centre of the storm, reporting that violent narratives the billionaire amplified on his platform X reached tens of millions of users within days of a knife attack in the Northern Irish capital.
Clashes broke out in Belfast after a knife attack on Monday, with the Police Service of Northern Ireland charging a 30-year-old Sudanese national named Hadi Alodid with attempted murder. The unrest spread quickly, drawing protesters and counter-demonstrators onto the streets as police deployed in riot gear.
Musk, newly crowned the world’s first trillionaire, amplified calls for protest from anti-immigration activist Tommy Robinson and told his 240 million followers on X, “Only by protesting REPEATEDLY and LOUDLY will there be any change.” He also boosted anti-immigration posts from Rupert Lowe, leader of the fringe hard-right party Restore Britain, extending his reach to millions of users on the platform.
The Centre for Countering Digital Hate, a nonprofit watchdog, analysed a sample of posts about the Belfast demonstrations from the three figures. The accounts generated a combined total of 115,391,726 views, with Musk accounting for 55 per cent of all views. His posts alone accounted for 64,002,842 views, more than the roughly 51 million Lowe and Robinson amassed between them without his amplification.
“Musk’s amplification has been instrumental,” the CCDH said, putting his contribution at 64 million views. Imran Ahmed, the group’s founder and chief executive, said, “As the owner of X and its most followed user, Musk has unparalleled power to shape what people see online. With that power comes responsibility for the content and conduct his platform promotes.” He added that “no individual played a bigger role in spreading this content on X than Musk himself.”
The watchdog said it found an “explosion in calls for violence” in replies to the posts. It logged 3,932 responses calling for violence against immigrants, including calls for arson, lynchings, executions and beheadings. Of these, 2,685 were replies to Robinson’s posts, 1,008 to Lowe’s and 239 to Musk’s, an equivalent of 98 violent replies an hour over the two days following the attack.
Robinson, whose real name is Stephen Yaxley-Lennon, was formerly banned from the platform. His account was reinstated in November 2023 following Musk’s purchase of the platform, previously known as Twitter. The CCDH said Musk has also expanded Lowe’s reach in recent weeks, posting that only his party can “save Britain.”
The findings landed alongside warnings from regulators. Ofcom cautioned technology firms on Tuesday that illegal content going viral online can pose a serious threat to public safety, citing the riots that followed the 2024 Southport murders.
The report coincided with a financial milestone for Musk. He became the world’s first trillionaire on Friday after shares in SpaceX soared following its Wall Street trading debut, with the initial public offering raising more than $75 billion. X did not immediately respond to a request for comment from AFP.