Parmy Olson, Columnist

Elon Musk Hits a UK Blind Spot by Inflaming Riots

Even with an ambitious law, Britain can’t do much to get social media platforms to stem the toxic content that helped fuel riots here.

August 7, 2024 at 4:00 AM UTC

By Parmy Olson

Parmy Olson is a Bloomberg Opinion columnist covering technology. A former reporter for the Wall Street Journal and Forbes, she is author of “Supremacy: AI, ChatGPT and the Race That Will Change the World.”

Britain is struggling to put down far-right rioters.
Photographer: Christopher Furlong/Getty Images Europe

Provide news feedback or report an error

Site feedback:

Take our Survey

With Britain struggling to put down far-right rioters, Elon Musk is only fanning the flames. Days after Prime Minister Keir Starmer warned social media firms over online misinformation that fueled the unrest, Musk waded in by suggesting the riots were the result of mass migration, adding that “civil war was inevitable.”