Tech trillionaire Elon Musk has stated that “legal action is being taken” against the German broadcaster ZDF, as the channel linked him to the protests in Belfast, claiming he helped organise a “hunt” for migrants.
The widely discussed situation in Belfast came to the fore after a video emerged showing a migrant from Sudan attempting to behead a man. British activist Tommy Robinson, known for his anti-migrant stance, urged people to stage mass protests. Shortly thereafter, Musk tweeted his post on his social media account X, adding a comment that real change is only possible through regular and vocal protests.
In Belfast, Northern Ireland, mass anti-immigration protests took place over several days, leading to riots and the doxxing of migrants. Later last week, an anti-racism demonstration was held in response to the riots involving
Subsequently, the TV channel showed this segment on the programme ZDFheute live. It presented the businessman’s actions as part of a wider debate on the escalation of online aggression, which flares up on the internet following high-profile violent crimes.
“A brutal attempted murder in broad daylight in Belfast. Someone films it. The video goes viral. A racist mob then hunts down migrants. This was called for by a British far-right extremist and tech billionaire Elon Musk,” said presenter Christina von Ungern-Sternberg, asking: “What’s behind it? Which actors have an interest in using a violent crime to incite civil war?”
The channel later admitted that the wording was incorrect, but the statement had already spread rapidly online and among the British media, which was picked up by Labour Party politicians who also indirectly included Musk on the list of those “inciting” the unrest.
Many major German media outlets criticised ZDFheute live. Welt journalist Anna Schneider stated that “ZDF is attributing a statement to Musk that he never made.” Sebastian Eberle, an NDR editor, wrote on his X page: “Dear colleagues in Mainz, with all due respect, this is unacceptable. We cannot and must not work like this. This is completely unacceptable.”
In response to a query from Nius regarding the controversy, a ZDF spokesperson said: “The presenter was supposed to succinctly summarise the complex situation of the violently escalating protests and the previous calls for protests on X at the start of the very comprehensive and nuanced 30-minute programme. However, the wording chosen was imprecise and therefore misleading.”
On Monday, Musk said on X that he would take legal action against the broadcaster: “Legal action is being taken against ZDF for their outrageous lies.”
In February, the broadcaster found itself in a similar situation when it aired a video clip containing AI-generated footage showing US Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) officers arresting a migrant family.
