Elon Musk loves responding to posts on X with coronary heart emojis. He’s despatched dozens this yr alone, typically in response to folks praising his vehicles or on to his mom’s posts.
However this week, Musk despatched a coronary heart emoji to Tommy Robinson, the far-right Islamophobic activist from the UK. Although Musk largely ignored UK politics this yr whereas working within the US authorities at his so-called Division of Authorities Effectivity (DOGE), he seems to be again throughout the pond, spending his cash and utilizing his platform to raise far-right extremists.
“A HUGE THANK YOU to @elonmusk right this moment. Legend,” Robinson wrote on Monday, following the primary day of his two-day trial for a cost associated to counter-terrorism legislation at Westminster Justice of the Peace’s Court docket in London. Robinson claimed this week that Musk had funded his protection.
Robinson, whose actual identify is Stephen Yaxley-Lennon, was charged below the Terrorism Act after he refused to provide police entry to his cellular phone in July 2024 whereas making an attempt to depart the UK. Prosecutor Jo Morris informed the decide this week the police believed “there could also be info related to acts of terrorism” on the telephone on the time. Robinson has pleaded not responsible and claimed the cease was illegal. A choice on this case is due subsequent month.
In a video posted on X forward of the trial this week, Robinson stated Musk had agreed to fund his protection. Robinson didn’t say how a lot Musk was contributing to his protection fund, however Mark Stephens, a outstanding British solicitor who has previously served as authorized counsel for Julian Assange, tells WIRED that if he have been masking Robinson’s total protection, Musk’s invoice would come to “simply half 1,000,000 kilos [$665,000], possibly extra with appeals.”
Robinson and Musk didn’t reply to requests for remark.
Musk posted incessantly about British politics in the beginning of the yr, till his focus was consumed by DOGE. However, following his stormy departure from Washington, Musk’s deal with Europe is as soon as once more creating chaos. WIRED analyzed information offered by BrightData that reveals a big dropoff within the variety of posts Musk made concerning the UK after January of this yr. After he left DOGE in Might, Musk’s posts concerning the UK elevated dramatically once more in August.
Consultants imagine Musk’s present outpouring of help for the UK’s far proper is a part of a doable concerted effort to destabilize the area politically to stop onerous laws—such because the EU’s Digital Providers Act or the UK’s On-line Security Act—getting used to punish X.
