German health minister calls US billionaire’s intervention weeks before election ‘undignified and problematic’

Summary

Elon Musk sparked outrage in Germany by endorsing the far-right, anti-immigrant Alternative für Deutschland (AfD) party on his platform, X, claiming “only the AfD can save Germany.”

The AfD, which polls second ahead of Germany’s February snap election, has been labeled extremist by German intelligence.

Political leaders accused Musk of election interference, while others criticized his remarks as harmful. Musk later doubled down, calling for Chancellor Olaf Scholz’s resignation.

Musk’s comments align with his past support for far-right and anti-immigration figures across Europe and beyond.

  • WeUnite@lemm.eeEnglish
    773·
    2 days ago

    No country is safe from Elon Musk’s election interference. It’s urgent that we boycott Twitter and Tesla. If you have a Twitter account do the following now:

    1. Send a DM to your favorite accounts and urge them to stop using Twitter.
    2. (If you haven’t already) register for Bluesky.
    3. Make a Tweet saying you are no longer using Twitter.
    4. Tell your friends to follow the same instructions.

    These could take as little as five minutes of your time but it will make a huge difference because of the ripple effect. When one person leaves it will automatically incentivize your friends to follow you. You have the power to make a difference.

      • bss03@infosec.pubEnglish
        361·
        2 days ago

        Either is better than X/Twitter for now. Bluesky is “easier” for many people. I prefer Mastodon myself, but there’s a bridge so I can follow Bluesky profiles (and vice-versa) which is nice.

          • Maxxie@lemmy.blahaj.zoneEnglish
            8·
            1 day ago

            It’s at least half a decade earlier on the enshittification timeline.

            It is better than xitter right now (almost anything is) but the earlier you quit the black-box-algorithm-skinnerbox needle, the better.

          • splinter@lemm.eeEnglish
            181·
            2 days ago

            This is false. It still has areas in which it could improve, but it is a thousand times better than twitter.

            • ms.lane@lemmy.worldEnglish
              42·
              1 day ago

              It’s ownership is a shadowy cabal of Billionaires (as opposed to a mutually federated network of independent sites (Mastodon) or a single, crazed, billionaire) and it’s already proven it will censor and shape discussions how those billionaires see fit.

              • Jyek@sh.itjust.worksEnglish
                2·
                14 hours ago

                Shadowy cabal? They literally list their board of directors on their FAQ…

                Jay Graber; Jeremie Miller, the inventor of Jabber/XMPP; Mike Masnick; and Kinjal Shah.

                What about a group of public figures is a shadowy cabal?

              • splinter@lemm.eeEnglish
                1·
                20 hours ago

                If true, that would still make it not quite as bad as Twitter.

                Do you have citations to support any of your claims?