The UK’s Foreign Secretary David Lammy is holding crisis talks with MPs as work begins on an inquiry that could label tech billionaire Elon Musk a “malign actor”, as the UK faces disinformation threats from social media content.
Mr Musk, owner of X and now a political appointee allied to US President Donald Trump, provoked outrage in the UK after he backed British convict and far-right activist Tommy Robinson, whose real name is Stephen Yaxley-Lennon, in a social media post in January.
An inquiry on disinformation threats to the UK was launched last month by the Foreign Affairs Committee, a group of MPs who scrutinise the government’s foreign policy. In calling for submissions, the committee chair, Labour MP Emily Thornberry, said platforms such as that controlled by Mr Musk “spread disinformation that disrupts and destabilises”.
Government diplomats have advised Mr Lammy against placing influential individuals alongside state-backed disinformation campaigns by Russia, Iran and China, The National understands.
Mr Lammy is expected to meet Ms Thornberry to discuss the inquiry this week. The committee's inquiry is seeking evidence and submissions to establish “what threats the UK faces” from online disinformation campaigns. “These threats aren’t just coming from hostile states, but also non-state actors. Powerful figures such as Elon Musk exploit their platform to spread disinformation that disrupts and destabilises,” Ms Thornberry said.
Mr Musk has also been criticised for allowing online disinformation to proliferate on the social media platform X, in his self-stated mission be a “free-speech absolutist”. Incendiary figures such as Yaxley-Lennon, who was previously banned from Twitter, were reinstated by Mr Musk after he bought the platform in 2022.
“We’ve seen social media algorithms shift to favour more controversial and incendiary content, furthering disinformation’s reach,” said Ms Thornberry. “As social media companies continue to navigate how best to monitor content posted on their platforms, the recent move away from third-party fact checking may also impact the proliferation of disinformation.”
Mr Lammy, who has sought to improve relations with President Trump and his administration, warned against “peddling” false information after Mr Musk’s comments in January. “I recognise there is a heated debate about free speech and Elon Musk is at one end of that debate. But to have free speech it must be based on facts and on truth. Some of what we’ve seen online is peddling mistruth,” he said.
Yet Mr Musk’s influence on UK politics was clear on Saturday, as Yaxley-Lennon's supporters marched in their hundreds to Downing Street, calling for his release from prison, an end to Mr Starmer’s government and an end to immigration.
They were emboldened by Mr Musk’s comments, thanking him in slogans and placards for “giving back”, as they see it, freedom of speech. One supporter in London who was carrying a US flag held up a T-shirt on which he had drawn hearts and written: “Thank you Elon Musk! X The Donald Trump too!”.
Yaxley Lennon is serving an 18-month sentence for contempt of court after repeatedly defaming a teenage Syrian refugee to the UK, whose family then received death threats. Last year he was accused by MPs and experts of stoking far-right riots after the Southport knife attacks, during which mosques and hotels housing asylum seekers were set on fire.
The riots were fuelled by false claims online, which Russian bots are believed to have helped spread, that the Southport attacker had been a Muslim asylum seeker. Yet on Saturday, Yaxley-Lennon's supporters said he was a “political prisoner” who had been detained for speaking “the truth” about migration and national issues such as grooming gangs.
“We have political prisoners in jail now for hurty words,” said Irene, a Londoner aged 76. “The main person is Tommy Robinson. The government are frightened of him, because he’s rallied up so many people by telling everyone the truth. We would like our country back. Our speech has been curbed. I’m now frightened of sending messages out on the internet or on my phone.”
Protesters also praised Mr Musk for reinstating Yaxley-Lennon on X. Mr Musk had “given back freedom of speech”, said Geri, another supporter from west London. “He took Twitter on and gave Tommy a platform again. It’s because of Elon that this is happening and that everyone is able to realise what’s going on,” she told The National on Saturday.
Mr Musk’s support of Yaxley-Lennon was accompanied by criticism of Nigel Farage's leadership of the Reform right-wing, anti-immigration party that has been eating away at support for the Conservative Party.
