Elon Musk, the richest man in the world, with his financial and media support significantly contributed to the success of Donald Trump in the elections
He supported it with a lot of money and media influence Donald Trump. Elon Musk, the richest man in the world, helped decide the outcome of the US election. Now he could expand his power, he reports Deutsche says.
"We have a new star - Ilona!" Donald Trump's eulogy addressed to Elon Musk on election night lasted almost four minutes. Musk is "a special guy, a super-genius," Trump said when announcing his election victory at his Mar-a-Lago resort in Florida.
Even at the moment of his greatest triumph, Trump did not say another word about himself. Why? First of all, there is the $119 million that Musk allocated for Trump's election campaign.
In the most expensive election campaign of all time, Musk's donations likely played a key role, says political scientist Jan Ratje. He is an expert on right-wing extremism and conspiracy theories at the CeMAS Center for Monitoring, Analysis and Strategy. "Elon Musk brought the whole thing to a head with his lottery," Ratje tells DW. He gave US$1 million a day to Trump supporters in "swinging" US states.
"X as 'Hell of Hate'
In addition to money, Musk also provided Trump with a lot of attention, especially on his platform X (X), formerly Twitter. "On the one hand, by sharing far-right content himself, and on the other hand, by allowing right-wing extremist actors to re-open accounts on his platform and rebuild a large reach," says Ratje.
An analysis by the non-governmental organization Center for Combating Digital Hate (CCDH) suggests that Musk, with his platform X, could have manipulated the election campaign in Trump's favor. Musk's false or misleading claims about the US election have been viewed nearly 1,2 billion times, according to CCDH founder Imran Ahmed. "Since Elon Musk took over X, the platform has turned into an inferno of hate and misinformation - and a lot of it comes directly from Musk," Ahmed told DW.
Fake news as creators of identity
Jeanette Hoffman casts doubt on that claim. "I don't believe that X or Musk himself has as much manipulative influence as is often assumed," the head of the research group for digitalization policy at the Science Center Berlin (WZB) told DW. "I would say that it is actually the other way around, that Musk reflects the views and political opinions of many Trump supporters." In that sense, I see him more as a representative of a certain emotional state and attitudes that are clearly dominant in America right now."
In general, the impact of misinformation, or false claims, is often overestimated, Hoffman explains. "It is often feared here that disinformation has a great manipulative influence." I think they have more of an impact on identity formation.” Those who share false claims on the X platform, such as those about migrants eating pets, do not necessarily believe the truth of those claims. By liking and sharing, people are more likely to express their affiliation with a political camp – for example, loyalty to a populist like Trump, according to Hoffman.
Patterns of interpretation that also apply in Germany
Does this also apply to Germany, where parliamentary elections are being held next year? Yes, says Hoffman. "But what is drastically different is the national media scene." "It has a significant impact on whether misinformation can develop its identity-forming effect." In Germany, this would be mitigated by a media scene that spreads less false claims.
Even Kurd Knipfer does not see disinformation as a decisive factor in elections, neither in the USA nor in Germany. He researches political communication at the Center for Digital Democracy at the University of Southern Denmark in Odense. In an interview with DW, Knipfer emphasizes that similar patterns of interpretation as in the USA could also apply in Germany. "In Germany, too, there is fundamental dissatisfaction with established institutions, media, educational institutions, democratic processes, parties." This "counter-narrative" is mainly spread through new media. "Of course it helps if you have machinery that uses those heuristics all the time."
Two billionaires in the Oval Office
Will the richest man in the world become the most powerful? His closeness to the future 47th US president is likely to further increase the tech billionaire's influence. On election night, Musk posted a photo montage on his platform of him entering the Oval Office, the office of the US president. However, it remains to be seen whether he will take on any important role.
"We should not underestimate the fact that a window of influence has now opened for Elon Musk," says political scientist Ratje. He could now try to reduce government regulation in order to profit economically. "Especially with his companies SpaceX, Starlink and Tesla, for example, as far as workers' rights go," Ratje says. He could also hope for big government contracts. By the way, this does not only apply to Musk and his companies, adds political analyst Knipfer. And other tech giants like Amazon and Meta are interested in as few rules and taxes as possible.
Will the friendship between the two billionaires, Musk and Trump, last even when the euphoria over the victory subsides? "Two big egos like Donald Trump and Elon Musk are not necessarily in harmony," says Ratje. He recalls the first term of Donald Trump. The man who became famous for the phrase "you're fired" fired nine out of ten of his key aides during his first term as president.
A fire broke out in places on the Adriatic coast in the area of Piska and Marušić, east of Omiš in Croatia, and the fire is spreading in the direction of houses. Extinguishing the fire is made difficult by the storm
The Israel-Iran war has grabbed the headlines, but thousands of people in Gaza are losing their lives, homes and dignity every day - without any attention. The humanitarian disaster deepens, while hostages and civilians struggle to survive, completely forgotten
The Human Rights Watch organization warns that the European Union and Great Britain are increasingly treating the Western Balkans as a "warehouse for migrants". In Bosnia and Herzegovina, with the announcement of possible deportations from Great Britain, the issues of security, camp capacity and political will to sign such agreements have been reopened.
The war between Israel and Iran enters its second week. Donald Trump is weighing whether the US should intervene militarily, European officials are negotiating with Iran's foreign minister, and Serbia is evacuating its citizens.
The European Parliament, on the initiative of right-wing parties, voted to form a working group that will examine the financing of non-governmental organizations from the European Union budget. The decision was initiated by right-wing parties
Can the students and the opposition make up for 51 votes in the repeated elections at polling station number 25 in Kosjerić? Is it an impossible mission or another attempt that changes everything
The Serbian Government elected the commander of the "White Eagles", Dragoslav Bokan, as the president of the Board of Directors of the National Theater. Why not read "Aco Serbs" instead of "Your hands are bloody"?
What will Vučić do when his second presidential term expires in 2027. The Constitution does not provide for a third. Maybe he won't go into political retirement
The archive of the weekly Vreme includes all our digital editions, since the very beginning of our work. All issues can be downloaded in PDF format, by purchasing the digital edition, or you can read all available texts from the selected issue.
See all
