LONDON: Elon Musk, the CEO of X and a new appointee in Donald Trump’s administration, will be summoned by British MPs to testify about the role of his social media platform in spreading disinformation during the riots that shook England and Northern Ireland this summer, The Guardian reported on Wednesday.
The hearing, part of a Commons science and technology select committee inquiry into social media, is set to take place early next year.
Executives from other major platforms, including Meta and TikTok, are also expected to be called to testify.
“(Musk) has very strong views on multiple aspects of this,” said Chi Onwurah, the Labour chair of the select committee. “I would certainly like the opportunity to cross-examine him to see … how he reconciles his promotion of freedom of expression with his promotion of pure disinformation.”
She added that the session could “make up for” Musk’s reported frustration at being left out of a UK government investment summit in September.
The inquiry will examine the impact of generative AI and social media in spreading harmful content, particularly during the riots.
Images and posts shared on X and Facebook falsely claimed the attacker involved in the killing of three schoolgirls in Southport in August was a Muslim asylum-seeker.
These false claims fueled Islamophobic protests and violence targeting minorities, including asylum-seekers.
One individual was arrested under the Public Order Act for inciting racial hatred on X. The platform found the same content did not violate its policies on violent threats.
Musk himself joined the online discussion, controversially claiming that “Civil war is inevitable.”
His remarks drew backlash and accusations of meddling in foreign affairs, a criticism that he has faced again for commenting on Italy’s migration policies.
The inquiry comes as X faces increased scrutiny for its inability to curb misinformation and its updated terms of service, which allow the platform to train AI models on user data. This has led to millions of users abandoning the platform.
In an effort to calm the waters, former Labour minister Peter Mandelson, tipped as a potential UK ambassador to Washington, recently called for an end to the “feud” between Musk and the UK government, arguing that it is “unwise” for Britain to alienate him.
The committee’s investigation will also examine how Silicon Valley’s business models, including algorithmic amplification, contribute to the spread of misleading or harmful content.
Onwurah emphasized the need to “get to the bottom of the links between social media algorithms, generative AI, and the spread of harmful or false content.”
