- Elon Musk and X significantly amplified Islamophobic and far-right narratives around UK grooming gangs, targeting British Pakistani men, report finds.
- The report highlights coordinated global disinformation efforts from Hindutva extremist accounts.
A new report has strongly criticised Elon Musk and his social media platform X for significantly amplifying Islamophobic narratives around grooming gangs in the UK.
The Centre for the Study of Organised Hate (CSOH) describes X as a “high-velocity distribution channel” for hate speech and conspiracies, specifically targeting British Pakistani men, South Asians, and immigrant groups. The report, titled Radicalised Grooming Gangs: Elon Musk, X, and Amplification of Islamophobia in the UK explores Musk’s direct role in shaping and escalating this discourse.
Earlier this year, Musk made repeated posts about child grooming in Britain, accusing the Labour Party of inaction and even demanding the imprisonment of safeguarding minister Jess Phillips. These interventions, the report argues, did not exist in isolation—they were amplified by far-right influencers and coordinated networks that weaponised the narrative to vilify Muslim communities.
Drawing from an analysis of 1,365 posts generating more than 1.5 billion engagements, the report concludes that Musk’s actions were not merely influential—they were pivotal.
His repeated amplification of grooming gang allegations allowed far-right themes to flourish, reframing the issue as one of ethnic and religious conflict, despite law enforcement data showing most grooming gang offenders are white.
“The grooming gang discourse—turbocharged by Elon Musk’s unprecedented engagement on X—marks a disturbing fusion of far-right ideology and the failure of digital platforms to enforce even the most basic content moderation,” the CSOH writes.
The platform, it found, became a global hub for the spread of Islamophobic propaganda.
Coordinated campaigns involving both individuals and organisations worked to inject and amplify these narratives, casting grooming as not just a national issue, but a symbolic battleground for the global far-right’s search for legitimacy in a politically shifting UK.
Musk’s role was described as “instrumental.” His accusations against political leaders—such as blaming Labour leader Keir Starmer for being “complicit in the rape of Britain” due to his time as Director of Public Prosecutions—offered unprecedented validation to fringe elements.
“These attacks weren’t random,” the report argues. “By invoking free speech and engaging with known extremists, Musk gave a veneer of legitimacy to deeply harmful narratives. His platform became not only a loudspeaker for hate, but a shield against accountability, framing all pushback as censorship or political oppression.”
The report asserts that these conspiracies weaponise concepts like multiculturalism and political correctness, framing them as gateways to crime and as existential threats to social cohesion.
The report warns that such propaganda shifts the narrative from individual responsibility to collective blame—especially for Muslim men. Posts on X often described Muslim men as foreign “predators,” echoing long-standing orientalist tropes. The impact has been deeply racialised, distorting public discourse and trust in democratic institutions.
The targeting extended beyond anonymous users. London Mayor Sadiq Khan was a prominent target, vilified by far-right figures like Tommy Robinson, who referred to him as the “Pakistani mayor of London”—despite Khan being born in the UK. That single post amassed more than 850,000 views, illustrating how quickly hate-laced rhetoric can go viral.
CSOH also highlighted a disturbing transnational element: a coordinated push by Hindu nationalist accounts based in India to further fuel anti-Muslim narratives in the UK.
Of 650 posts analysed that targeted men of British Pakistani, South Asian, and immigrant backgrounds, 107 were directly linked to accounts affiliated with Hindutva extremist ideologies—collectively generating nearly 8 million views.
The report serves as a sobering indictment of how digital platforms—and those who control them—can be harnessed to amplify division, racial scapegoating, and extremism on a global scale.
