Latest online war of words involves Hungarian MEP András László and the former European Commissioner for Digital Affairs, Thierry Breton, and misinformation about the EU’s power to interfere in elections.
The tech billionaire Elon Musk’s latest post on X is likely to further anger European leaders who have already accused him of using his reach on the social platform to interfere in national debates.
On Saturday, the Hungarian MEP András László, a member of the ruling Fidesz party, took to X to complain about what he perceived to be double standards in who can donate funds to European NGOs and who is entitled to express an opinion.
“When 10 million USD was illegally channelled to the Hungarian left for their 2022 election campaign, elites in Brussels stayed silent. When the US embassy in Budapest started distributing funding to left-wing media, elites in Brussels stayed silent. When the Hungarian parliament adopted a sovereignty protection law to prevent such further interference, the European Commission sued Hungary,” he wrote.
“Now that there is another billionaire, Elon Musk, who dares to merely voice his opinion on European politics in favour of one political side or another, so-called liberal elites want to cancel democracy if they won’t like the outcome of elections. And they speak candidaly about the fact that this is exactly what they have recently done in Romania.”
Musk reposted László’s comments to his 212 million followers, saying only “Exactly”.
The remarks about Romania stem from a misunderstanding earlier the same day which led to a war of words between Musk and the former European Commissioner for Digital Affairs, Thierry Breton.
In a television interview with French broadcaster BFMTV/RMC, Breton was discussing a potential election win for Germany’s far-right AfD party in February’s snap vote.
Part of that interview was then posted to X by the current affairs account Visegrád 24, which has in the past shared unverified information and which has been accused by the Polish investigative media outlet OKO.press of publishing fake news.
The video that was posted to the Visegrád 24 X account was captioned: “Former European Commissioner Thierry Breton says the EU has mechanisms to nullify a potential election victory of the AfD: We did it in Romania and we will obviously do it in Germany if necessary.”
That was the post that was picked up by Musk who reposted it and slammed what he called Breton’s “astounding absurdity”, calling him the “tyrant of Europe”.
Breton quickly fired back, denying he was a tyrant and pointing out that, “the EU has NO mechanism to nullify any election anywhere in EU.”
“Not at all what is said in the video below related only to the application of the DSA and its moderation obligations. Lost in translation… or another fake news?” Breton said.
The DSA refers to the EU’s landmark Digital Services Act, which demands online platforms clamp down on illegal content.
In Thursday’s interview, Breton said Europe should, “keep our cool and enforce our laws in Europe when they risk being circumvented and when they can, if not enforced, lead to interference.”
“We did it in Romania and we will obviously have to do it if it is necessary in Germany,” he said.
Musk has long been critical of EU rules governing the digital space, accusing Brussels of censorship. But more recently, and particularly since he has become a close confidant of US President-elect Donald Trump, Musk has become increasingly vocal in his criticism of European politicians and political parties.
And several leaders in Europe aren’t happy about that.
The French president, the German chancellor, and the British and Spanish prime ministers have all denounced the American billionaire’s outbursts on X, the social media platform he bought in 2022.
Without naming him, French President Emmanuel Macron accused Musk of supporting “a new Reactionary International”.
“Ten years ago, if someone had told us that the owner of one of the biggest social networks in the world would support a new Reactionary International and intervene directly in elections, including in Germany, who would have imagined it,” Macron said.
The Spanish prime minister echoed the expression. “The Reactionary International, as President Macron said (…), led by the richest man on the planet, is openly attacking our institutions, inciting hatred and openly calling for support for the heirs of Nazism in Germany in the next elections,” Pedro Sanchez stated.
In recent weeks, Musk has made a series of controversial statements.
The billionaire and close friend of Donald Trump called German Chancellor Olaf Scholz “an incompetent fool” after the attack on the Magdeburg Christmas market.
The Tesla boss also attacked British Prime Minister Keir Starmer for negligence when he was a prosecutor in the 1990s in connection with the sexual exploitation of more than 1,500 underage girls by men of Pakistani origin, repeatedly calling for him to step down.
He also accused Jess Philips, the UK’s Minister of Safeguarding, an “evil witch” and a “rape genocide apologist.”
That came after GB News reported at the start of this year that Philips had voted against another government-led national inquiry into child sex abuse, arguing that local inquiries are generally more effective at pushing through change.
And earlier this month, after pledging to donate $100 million (€97 million) to the right-wing Reform UK party, Musk then slammed Nigel Farage, saying he “doesn’t have what it takes” to be the party’s leader.
Berlin has condemned the billionaire’s “erratic statements,” and Westminster denounced “those who spread lies and misinformation.”
And Musk’s perceived interference in the German election campaign has also caused ripples.
On 9 January, he hosted a live interview on X with Alice Weidel, the co-president of Germany’s far-right Alternative for Germany (AfD) party, the party Musk openly supports.
During that live stream, Musk urged Germans to vote the AfD. That interview prompted more than 60 German and Austrian academic organisations to announce their departure from X and the German government to complain that Musk and X were warping political discourse.
French Foreign Minister Jean-Noël Barrot went one step further in his criticism, calling on the European Commission to intervene “with the utmost firmness” into Musk, X and its reach.
France’s foreign affairs chief has not ruled out a ban on X in Europe, similar to what happened in Brazil. “This is provided for in our laws,” he said.
The European Commission has been investigating the social network for potential violations of the Digital Services Act.
German MEP Damian Boeselager (Greens/EFA) questioned the Commission about Elon Musk’s stance and the legality of these interventions.
“If there is a violation of the DSA, I would like to see a rapid reaction. So, if very simply, Elon Musk increases his own reach and uses that increase to recommend a party, the AfD in Germany in the German elections if that is illegal under the DSA, then that would require swift action,” said Boeselager.
The Commission points out that freedom of expression is at the heart of European regulations. However, in this case, the EU can use another lever.
“Through algorithms, it is possible to favour a certain type of narrative. You can favour a certain type of content, or you can try to prohibit another type of content,” Thomas Regnier, spokesman for the European Commission, explained.
“We have clearly indicated that such a livestream is not, in principle, prohibited by the DSA. Now, to what extent is it, or could it be amplified? That’s what the Commission will be looking into,” he added.
The Commission, the German regulator, and the large digital platforms, including X, are scheduled to meet on 24 January to prevent interference during the German election.
European regulators have been probing X since December 2023, but Musk’s close ties to Trump have raised questions about how the bloc will handle the platform and its suspected DSA violations.
Meanwhile, EU leaders can only wait and watch to find out which of them Musk takes aim at next.
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