this post was submitted on 22 Dec 2024
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Summary

Elon Musk’s relationship with the UK has soured as he increasingly criticizes the country, calling it a “tyrannical police state” and amplifying far-right rhetoric on his platform, X.

His actions, including spreading misinformation during the Southport riots and attacking the Online Safety Act, align with his libertarian, anti-“woke” views.

Musk’s interest in UK politics may stem from personal beliefs and potential business concerns, as the Act imposes substantial fines on platforms hosting illegal content.

Reports also suggest Musk may fund Nigel Farage’s Reform UK party to further his influence.

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[–] [email protected] 32 points 1 day ago (1 children)

It will most probably not limit itself with the UK.

The UK is just ripe for the plucking, that country has shown the ability to shoot themselves in the nuts and has proven to be able to elect nutjobs and/or a nutjob party. See Truss, Johnson, Sunak, etc.

Any country that shows social instability, a reasonably strong fascist movement and uproar against people from the left through MAGA terminology will be in his visor as a target. He will then endorse these via his platform and his fortune.

He is willing to see the world burn for personal gain. These gains will come through his companies located all over the world, hence his meddling with these countries.

[–] [email protected] 7 points 19 hours ago

Don't worry he already started pushing and donating to the AfD in Germany. Maybe we'll join the UK with a Dexit from the EU sooner than later if these bozos get in power

[–] ThePowerOfGeek 34 points 1 day ago (2 children)

Now that Musk and the rest of Putin's puppets feel they have sufficiently compromised America's integrity, they are moving on to a new target. They will lap up and amplify all the far right bullshit that originated from the Russian troll farms.

[–] [email protected] 16 points 23 hours ago

It's strongly suspected that Russia had some influence on Brexit, if not a whole heap of other things: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Russian_interference_in_the_2016_Brexit_referendum

Nonetheless, that result weakened both the UK and Europe, which is the sort of thing Putin would have been very much interested in.

I mean, it could all be a massive coincidence, or it could be a massive coincidence like all those people falling out of windows.

[–] gcheliotis 5 points 19 hours ago

Are we still going to refer to them as Putin’s puppets, when the US has been angling for a while now to become the greatest exporter of alt-right ideology? Doesn’t this detract from the fact that the US isn’t exporting democracy anymore (if it ever did) and is instead exporting its degeneration into whatever Bannon/Trump/Musk/Thiel and others want it to become?

Maybe calling them Putin’s puppets helps discredit them on US soil, but the rest of us see the US go the way of Russia and China. And a bleak future in which most of us will only get to choose between different flavors of authoritarianism…

[–] nogooduser 12 points 1 day ago (1 children)

There really should be some laws around how much funding parties can accept as donations and it should be zero from non citizens. Why is it ok for non voters to have any influence over elections and policies?

[–] WhatAmLemmy 4 points 10 hours ago (1 children)

Because the entire western world are essentially corporate owned plutocracies masquerading as "democracies".

In capitalism you vote with your wallet. The individuals with the greatest wealth, and those who control the wealthiest corporations, get the most votes. It's as simple as that. Sure intelligence, social dynamics, and psychology play a part, but nothing plays as bigger part as capital. Democracy can't exist with massive wealth inequality or individuals/orgs able to buy politicians, parties, or elections (e.g. billionaires).

[–] nogooduser 1 points 8 hours ago

Democracy can't exist with massive wealth inequality or individuals/orgs able to buy politicians, parties, or elections (e.g. billionaires).

We could pass/strengthen laws that prevent politicians from being bought but that wouldn’t benefit the politicians so I guess that we’re shit out of luck on that one.

[–] FlyingSquid 10 points 1 day ago

Looking forward to emigrating away from Elon and to the tyrannical police state he hates.

Nigel Farage can get fucked.

[–] [email protected] 6 points 1 day ago (1 children)

Rich coming from the asshole who's cars records everything around them and have been seized as evidence by police.

[–] xenomor 4 points 23 hours ago

It’s about racism, the same thing that motivates a lot of his efforts in the US.