UK riots: Elon Musk vs Keir Starmer war of words over misinformation on social media

A war of words has broken out between tech billionaire Elon Musk and UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer amid the nation's worst riots in 13 years. Starmer-led Labour government condemned the role of social media in spreading misinformation about Southport stabbing, triggering anti-immigrant violence. Musk called the UK PM "two-tier Keir," apparently accusing him of double standards in police treatment of right-wing protesters compared to minorities.

Earlier on Sunday, Elon Musk wrote 'civil war is inevitable' while commenting on a post on the riots. This drew a sharp reaction from Starmer's spokesperson said there is "no justification for comments like that" and that "anyone who is whipping up violence online will face the full force of the law".

Starmer later took to X to say that attacks on mosques or Muslim communities will not be tolerated. To this, Musk asked Starmer: "Shouldn’t he be concerned about attacks on all communities?"

A day later, Musk re-posted a video purportedly showing a person being arrested for making offensive comments on Facebook. To this, Musk questioned "Is this Britain or the Soviet Union?"

Musk also questioned Starmer on a media report on sexual abuse of girls by Asian gangs.

In yet another dig at the UK government, Musk shared a picture of Peter Griffin, a character from US sitcom Family Guy, in an electric chair. Musk suggested it would be the UK government's action for a Facebook comment in 2030.