Summary

Germany accused Elon Musk of trying to influence its February 2024 election by endorsing the far-right Alternative for Germany (AfD) through social media posts and a commentary in Welt am Sonntag.

Musk praised the AfD’s positions on regulation and taxes, calling them Germany’s saviors.

His actions sparked backlash, with opposition leader Friedrich Merz calling it unprecedented interference and SPD leader Saskia Esken vowing to resist influence from wealthy elites.

The Welt editor who published Musk’s piece resigned, while the AfD, polling second, remains shunned by mainstream parties.

  • CosmoNova@lemmy.world
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    9 days ago

    For those unaware, the AfD wants one of the most export reliant countries on the planet to just leave the EU. Even among far right parties in the EU, this is exceptionally unpopular. There is probably no other party who would even consider leaving the EU after what happened with the UK. It goes to show how absolutely irrational the German far right are.

      • Metz@lemmy.world
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        9 days ago

        Or filled with hate. Unfortunately, a family member recently joined them. Someone who made his Abitur with grade of 1.0. This is pretty much the best school-graduation possible in Germany. And he has a Master’s degree.

        Highly intelligent but hates foreigners because he had a few bad experiences in his youth. That seems to be enough for some. Very very sad.

        • boomzilla@programming.dev
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          8 days ago

          That’s how it started with the NSDAP and academics joining them.

          Germany already had some kind of Wanseekonference 2.0 in November 2023 organized by (history really repeats itself) intelligent, industrious people with academic degrees (like Hans-Christian Limmer or Gernot Mörig) and an Austrian Hitler 2.0 aka Martin Sellner. The decission makers in the AfD are academics. AfD politician Gauland who described the Holocaust as of bird shit proportions in comparison to the successful 1000 year history of the German reign has a doctoral degree.

          Josef Mengele earned a summa cum laude for race-morphological researches about human jaws (which is seen as pseudo science today) and had two doctoral degrees.

          He put a whole block comprised of 600 women in the midst of a Typhus outbreak into the gas chamber. He did that many times more with other diseases like mingles (mostly children) or e.g. with the murder of 4000 people in Theresienstadt because of again typhus. He was nominated for the Cross of Honour for that. He was convinced that jews needed to be exterminated.

          I don’t want to write about the other horrible things he did but my point is someone being able to function at an exceptional level in society doesn’t mean shit in regards to life decisions, ethics, racist or psychopath tendencies and the chance of being a good person.

          I’m no academic (only Hochschulreife) and I just can’t understand that these academics are so dimwitted they want to try the whole thing again in the midst of a time already characterized by multiple crisises at a global level. Just because they think this time they’ll come out on top and only the plebs will die. See you in Nuremberg Dr. Alice Weidel.

  • Kalysta@lemm.ee
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    9 days ago

    Just like he did in the US election. I hope Germany has better safeguards than we did.

    • Fedizen@lemmy.world
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      9 days ago

      or fucking drop a bomb on him, Germany. The EU should see him as a threat to democracy and a russian asset.

      • Mateoto@lemmy.world
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        9 days ago

        The EU has strict content moderation laws that Twitter currently violates, which Elon explicitly ignores. The EU could take actions based on the same principles that Brazil did.

        • pumpkinseedoil@mander.xyz
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          9 days ago

          I doubt it’s election interference when he simply posts his opinion online, if that were to get censored, as much as I’d like to censor Musk, I’d be deeply worried about what else could be censored (especially when the AfD is in power)

  • computerscientistII@lemm.ee
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    8 days ago

    As recently as 5 years ago I was convinced that at the end of the day this guy does more good than bad for the human race. But he is really, really putting an effort into tipping the scales, isn’t he?

    • Fedizen@lemmy.world
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      6 days ago

      I was certain he was a net negative when he called that diver pedo for mocking his unserious marketing pitch for a rescue submarine. That was the point I realized he was just a pile of cash with an ego.

  • Cait@lemmy.blahaj.zone
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    7 days ago

    Please Elon, come over and discuss election campaign strategys with us in this secluded hut in the woods, far away from the prying eyes of the public

  • poo@lemmy.world
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    8 days ago

    Perhaps he can visit Germany, and the Germans are better marksman 🎯

  • ikidd@lemmy.world
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    9 days ago

    Boy, I bet that Welt editor felt great paying for airing Elon’s grievances with her job. FAFO, you useful idiot.