Getty ImagesElon Musk shared, then deleted, an image (formerly Twitter X) spreading a conspiracy theory that the UK was building “detention camps” for rioters in the Falkland Islands.
The image, disguised to appear to come from the Daily Telegraph website, was posted by Ashley Simon, co-leader of the far-right Britain First party, but had appeared elsewhere before she shared it.
Musk’s post was viewed more than 1.7 million times before being taken down, while Simon’s post was briefly annotated with “this post does not exist” before being deleted as well.
It is the latest in a series of controversial interventions by the tech billionaire since the unrest began, some of which have been directly condemned by the prime minister.
The role that social media platforms, including X, have played in the unrest has also come under intense scrutiny, with governments and media regulators calling for them to do more.
Musk has denied posting and then deleting the tweet. The BBC has contacted X for comment.
The Telegraph stressed that it had not published such a story.
“This is a fabricated headline for a story that doesn’t exist,” a Telegraph Media Group spokesman said.
“We have notified the relevant platforms and requested them to remove the posts.”
XBefore it was deleted, Musk’s post had attracted comments likening the UK to a fascist state.
The announcement comes as the UK government grapples with how to tackle online misinformation in the face of unrest across England and Northern Ireland.
Both the government and Ofcom have said social media companies should act for their role in the crisis, and the media regulator will have increased powers under the Online Safety Act by 2025 to take tougher action against such posts.
Mr Musk had previously responded to a post the Prime Minister made on X in which Sir Keir said he would not tolerate attacks on mosques or Muslim communities, but asked: “Shouldn’t we be concerned about attacks on all communities?”
Asked about Musk’s comments, Sir Keir had previously responded: “My focus is making sure our communities are safe. That’s my only focus. I think it’s really important for all of us to support the work of the police.”
XCommunity Notes
Before Musk bought Twitter in 2022, Britain First was banned from the social media site over its hate speech regulations.
However, he lifted the ban after coming to power, saying at the time that he was “against censorship that goes far beyond the law” and describing himself as a “free speech absolutist.”
This allowed Britain First and other far-right figures, including its then-leader, to return to the party platform.
Musk has in the past praised his platform’s “Community Notes” feature, which allows X users to partially verify the authenticity of posts.
But it has been criticized for taking too long, and in this case, no such note appeared by the time Musk’s post was deleted.
It took just under 10 hours for a community note to appear beneath the original post shared by Simon.
