The Owner Amplifier
Elon Musk's role in spreading violent anti-migrant narratives on X
In the aftermath of charges being brought against the man responsible for a brutal knife attack in Belfast, unrest quickly escalated into violent disorder. Social media played a significant role in fueling this violence. Among the platforms under scrutiny, Elon Musk's X has once again emerged as a major source of concern for hosting and amplifying content that contributed to the incitement of violence.
X is failing to meet its obligations to tackle illegal hate in the UK. Rather than limiting the reach of harmful content, Elon Musk, whose account is the most followed on the platform with more than 240 million followers, amplified anti-migrant narratives promoted by figures including Tommy Robinson and Rupert Lowe, extending their reach to millions of users.
The replies to these posts reveal a surge in calls for violence. CCDH's analysis identified 3,930 comments containing calls for violence, including:
- 240 calls for violence in replies to relevant posts from Elon Musk
- 1,000 calls for violence in replies to Restore party leader Rupert Lowe
- 2,690 calls for violence in replies to hate influencer Tommy Robinson
About
An Introduction from our CEO Imran Ahmed
Late on Monday 8th June, videos of a brutal knife attack in north Belfast started circulating on social media, reported to be an “attempted beheading”.
The victim, Stephen Ogilvie, has been hospitalised with serious injuries including the loss of his left eye. Police have charged Hadi Alodid, a Sudanese man living in Belfast, with attempted murder. Alodid was granted legal migration status in the UK in 2023.
In the immediate aftermath after his charging, unrest erupted, escalating into violent disorder in Belfast and nearby areas. Masked men attacked homes they believe to house migrants, burned vehicles and houses, and injured police officers.
Similarly to the summer riots of 2024, social media platforms played a role in fuelling these violent disorders. Among them, Elon Musk’s platform X emerged again as a focus of concern over content that contributed to the incitement of violence.
In response, the online safety regulator Ofcom warned platforms of their responsibility to tackle illegal hate and highlighted the real-world harms if they fail to do so. Ofcom additionally placed X in a compliance program to improve its handling of illegal hate.
This research finds that X is failing to meet these obligations. Rather than limiting the reach of harmful content, Elon Musk, whose account is the most followed on X with 240 million followers, has amplified violent migrant narratives from personalities such as Tommy Robinson and Rupert Lowe, extending their reach to millions of users.
Our study of posts about the Belfast disorder from these three key figures shows that Musk’s amplification has been instrumental, contributing 64 million views to their reach, more than Robinson and Lowe generated independently combined.
The replies to these posts represent an explosion in calls for violence, with 3,930 such comments identified by our analysis, including:
- 240 calls for violence in replies to relevant posts from Elon Musk
- 1,000 calls for violence in replies to Restore party leader Rupert Lowe
- 2,690 calls for violence in replies to hate influencer Tommy Robinson
Despite regulatory commitments to tackle illegal hate, X once again became a hotbed of calls for violence following the Belfast tragedy. x Elon Musk, the platform’s owner, has again used the incident to amplify violent migrant narratives inspiring calls for violence, with little apparent consequence on the platform.
The costs, however, were felt offline, as online outrage gave way to real-world intimidation, violence, and disorder.