Across Europe, far-right politicians and activists are getting attention and followings due to their exchanges with Elon Musk on X (formerly Twitter). Whether the German politician, British activist, or Cypriot influencer, their follower counts have skyrocketed when Musk responds or retweets their tweets.
One German politician had her audience expand from 230,000 to 2.2 million views on days that Musk interacted with her posts. In the UK, a right-wing extremist who had been suspended from the platform gained almost a million supporters after Musk reinstated him. And a relatively unknown Cypriot influencer went viral and later emerged victorious in a European Parliament election, with his opinions reaching new highs after Musk interacted with him.
Musk’s Global Influence and Reach
Although Musk’s political influence in the U.S. has weakened, resigning from Trump’s advisory board and also coming into conflict with President Biden. His impact on X is still strong. He is currently followed by over 220 million people, becoming the platform’s most-followed account.
This impact has tangible consequences. In a report with an investigation by the Associated Press (AP), the online popularity of Elon Musk has tangible implications on the visibility of European right-wing handles. “There’s an extreme asymmetry in the way Musk is able to leverage and shape the platform,” states Timothy Graham, an Australian digital media professor.
The ‘Musk Effect’
To gain a better insight into Musk’s involvement in amplifying far-right leaders, AP analyzed more than 20,000 tweets from 11 European accounts in six countries. These included tweets from leaders alleged to be extremist or who support nationalist ideologies. The AP also followed tens of thousands of Musk’s tweets.
Utilizing statistics from Bright Data and Social Blade (prior to X limiting access), AP discovered that on the days Musk engaged with these individuals, their views and followers grew frequently doubling or more.
For instance, one account which had 120,000 followers in 2022 now boasts over 1.2 million. Seven others acquired six-figure followings. In numerous instances, their post views multiplied several times once Musk interacted with them.
A Rising Fear in Europe
European leaders are concerned about the increased power of Musk and X over politics. European Parliament vice president Christel Schaldemose cautioned: “Every alarm bell has to ring. We have to ensure that power is not one-sided.”
Regulators at the European level are looking into how X boosts content. French prosecutors went as far as opening an investigation into whether the algorithm on the site was changed to promote biased posts.
Who Gained Traffic on Social Media?
Musk’s engagements raised many marginal and contentious players:
Alice Weidel (Germany): The AfD party leader’s daily opinions rose to 2.2 million after Musk engaged with her. Her party, considered extremist by the German government, has no Nazi affiliations. During a livestream with Musk, Weidel falsely referred to Hitler as a ‘communist, socialist guy’. That video received 16 million views.
Naomi Seibt (Germany): Famous for her climate change denial, Seibt messaged Musk almost 600 times. After his initial response, she amassed over 320,000 followers. “Clearly Elon has a lot of power,” she asserted.
Nigel Farage (UK): Prior to Britain’s national elections, Musk queried Farage on X: “Why does the media constantly refer to you as far-right?” Farage’s following tripled.
Rubén Pulido (Spain): When Musk replied to his migrant rescue boat posts, Pulido’s visibility increased three times over.
But lesser-known names such as Italy’s Giorgia Meloni and the Netherlands’ Geert Wilders didn’t experience the same engagement boost.
Not Just Followers, But Also ‘Greens’
Musk’s responses can also generate financial resources through X’s monetization features. British activist Tommy Robinson, for example, now has a donation link on his page. His daily view count more than doubled following Musk’s engagement.
Other platforms, such as Radio Genoa (probed in Italy for hate speech), experienced follower numbers increase from below 200,000 to 1.2 million once they interacted with Musk. Influencers such as Eva Vlaardingerbroek and Seibt derive income through X subscriptions and donations, albeit Seibt concedes it is not sufficient to sustain a living.
Offline Influence and Sponsorships
Musk’s backing goes beyond the social media space. In Italy, politician Matteo Salvini lobbied for Starlink contracts and fought against EU content rules, duplicating Musk’s stances.
Fidias Panayiotou, a Cypriot social media personality who became an MEP winner, initially raised attention by publicly requesting a hug from Musk, and got it. Musk later repeatedly re-posted and boosted his own, growing his followers by more than 3,000%. Panayiotou later thanked Musk in the EU Parliament and demanded 80% of bureaucrats to be fired, once again sharing Musk’s sentiment.
Musk even supported him on X: “Vote for Fidias. He is smart, super high energy and actually cares about you!” That tweet garnered more than 11 million views.
While some critics argue Musk’s influence can be dangerous to democracy, Panayiotou does not agree. He wrote, “I don’t think it’s a threat to democracy honestly that Elon Musk endorses me. I think this is the beauty of democracy.”
