After the European Commission imposed a €120 million fine on the company for non-compliance with the transparency requirements of the Digital Services Act (DSA), Elon Musk initiated a series of provocative and incorrect statements about Europe on his social media platform X. The tech billionaire blamed the European Union for a lack of democracy, called for its break-up, and even compared it to the “Fourth Reich” in line with the extreme right-wing narratives.
Several US politicians, including members of the Trump administration and the former president himself, who said that Europe was “heading in a very bad direction,” supported Musk’s rhetoric. However, a large number of Musk’s tweets were simply a repackaging of what he has already said in the past- which usually support far-right narratives and are based on distorted or incorrect information.
Misinformation About the Guadeloupe Car Crash
Musk was instrumental in spreading one of the most prevalent falsehoods about a car crash in Guadeloupe on 6 December that far-right British activist Tommy Robinson used to present it as a deliberate attack on a Christmas market. In his statement, Robinson claimed that ten people had died, suggested an Islamist motive, and accused the mainstream media of covering up the deaths.
Musk reposted the tweet and added the comment ‘again,’ thus supporting the idea of repeated Islamist attacks in Europe.
However, local authorities stated that there were no deaths. Several people, including children, were hurt while getting ready for the Christmas lights. The driver, who was far from being a terrorist, was said to be under the influence of alcohol and cannabis. Robinson later conceded that “10 people were not killed” and that he had “reported incorrectly.”
The event is just one of many in which Musk has been involved in a larger pattern of behavior: He has on numerous occasions amplified the narratives of fringe activists and far-right content producers, like Robinson, with whom he has increasingly publicly interacted. After the activist was found not guilty of terrorism-related charges, Musk even paid for Robinson’s legal expenses in November.
Lies About X Becoming The Leading News App In Europe
Musk also asserted that after the EU fine, there was an enormous increase in the number of X downloads, and he announced it to be “the number 1 in every EU country.” Nevertheless, the data accessible to the public from app stores does not corroborate this claim.
In some EU countries, X was a top-ranking news app in Apple’s App Store, but it was not the number one overall app in big markets such as Germany, France, Italy, Spain, or Poland. X was not even in the top ten in several of these countries. The X app was not ranked among the top 12 in Germany, although Musk’s AI assistant Grok was at number six. On Android, X was also not one of the top 20 downloads, which are mostly TikTok, Instagram, WhatsApp, and ChatGPT, respectively.
Despite Musk’s characterizing X as a major source of news, the Reuters Institute’s 2025 Digital News Report reveals that Europeans still prefer traditional media, and when they use social platforms for news, they choose Instagram, TikTok, and YouTube rather than X.
Misrepresenting Public Opinion on “Remigration”
Musk was also instrumental in the amplification of assertions that “remigration” – a far-right term referring to the forced mass deportation of migrants and their descendants – has widespread public support in Europe.
Musk cited a Danish poll where 70% of people supported the deportation of foreign criminals; however, this is already a policy that is well within the mainstream and is currently in force in Denmark and other EU countries. The majority of European states allow the expulsion of non-citizens who have been convicted of serious crimes.
Nevertheless, this is not the same as “remigration”, which has its roots in the extremist ideologies and not only removes asylum seekers but also legal long-term residents, naturalised citizens, and even their European-born children. There is not a single credible survey that indicates strong public support for such extensive deportations.
The EU statistics go against the “replacement” narrative further: only 6.4% of residents in the EU are non-EU citizens, and 9.9% were born outside the bloc.
No Proof of “Secret Deal” With European Commission
Musk claimed several times that the EU offered X an “illegal secret deal” to avoid fines if the platform would silently censor content. Former internal market commissioner Thierry Breton denied this publicly in 2023 by saying that according to the DSA, platforms may offer voluntary commitments to resolve cases—steps that are recorded and shown.
The Commission accepted such commitments from AliExpress earlier this year, demonstrating the openness of the procedure.
Musk has not answered clarifying questions about his allegations. The European Commission is of the opinion that DSA enforcement will go on despite any political pressure or online rhetoric.
