Scotland’s former first minister has described Elon Musk as “one of the most dangerous men on the planet”.
Speaking before a crowd at the Edinburgh Festival Fringe on Thursday, Humza Yousaf said the owner of X – formerly Twitter – used his wealth “for some of the most wicked evil I’ve seen”.
The comments come as Mr Musk deleted a repost on the website earlier on Thursday where he promoted a false claim about detainment camps being set up in the Falkland Islands for those involved in violent riots in the past week.
The world’s richest man has repeatedly weighed in on the disorder seen in the UK in the wake of the murders of three young girls in Southport, including dubbing the Prime Minister “two-tier Keir” and suggesting “civil war is inevitable” in the country.
Speaking about Reform UK leader Nigel Farage, the former first minister described he and Mr Musk as “bosom buddies”, going on to say of the X owner: “I have to say, in my opinion, he is one of the most dangerous men on the planet.
“He is accountable to nobody, he has vast wealth at his fingertips and he uses it for some of the most wicked evil I’ve seen.”
Speaking at an event with broadcaster Matthew Stadlen, Mr Yousaf added: “He is not an idiot – Elon Musk is very smart, very tech-savvy.”
Mr Musk could research the claims he amplifies on social media, the former first minister said, but he chooses not to.
Mr Yousaf pointed to the since-deleted repost of a faked headline purporting to be from the Daily Telegraph claiming Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer was planning detention camps in the Falkland Islands for rioters.
The Prime Minister, he said, has an opportunity to seek to regulate social media companies.
Mr Yousaf, however, said he did not believe X should be shut down in the UK.
Civil war is inevitable
— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) August 4, 2024
The former first minister’s comments come as his successor urged social media companies to tackle “dangerous” disinformation on their platforms.
Speaking on BBC Radio Scotland’s Good Morning Scotland programme, First Minister John Swinney said: “I think the social media companies have got a lot of improvement to undertake in their conduct.
“I was very struck by the communication of Ofcom yesterday, reminding social media companies of their obligation to remove material that incites hatred or violence.
“I don’t think that’s been the case.”
He pointed to rumours surrounding a stabbing in Stirling which reported three women had been attacked by a Muslim man, forcing Police Scotland to take the rare step of announcing the man arrested was white and from the local area, while only one woman was injured.
The case was promoted on social media by English Defence League (EDL) founder Tommy Robinson.
Scottish Labour leader Anas Sarwar also said social media companies were not yet fulfilling their duty to prevent the spread of hatred.
It comes after he joined other Holyrood party leaders at Bute House to be briefed on the situation by Mr Swinney on Wednesday.
