Tech billionaire Elon Musk could be summoned by MPs over disinformation (Image: Getty, PA)
to give evidence over the role of his social media site X in spreading misinformation during the summer riots.
The 53-year-old is expected to be called on to take part in a parliamentary inquiry into the riots which spread across the country, after being sparked in part by rumours spread online.
According to the Guardian, senior executives from Meta, which runs Facebook and , and representatives from .
A series of five hearings next year are expected to examine information that was spread online following the killings of three schoolgirls, Alice da Silva Aguiar, nine, Bebe King, six, and Elsie Dot Stancombe, seven, who died after an attack in Southport on July 29.
It’s understood MPs will look at instances of generative AI on the social media platforms which was used to widely share images on Facebook and X as part of an investigation into how tech firms “encourage the spread of content that can mislead and harm”.
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Riots swept across the country in the summer fuelled by online rumours (Image: Getty )
Chi Onwurah, the Labour MP chair of the select committee, told the Guardian: “[Musk] has very strong views on multiple aspects of this, I would certainly like the opportunity to cross-examine him to see … how he reconciles his promotion of freedom of expression with his promotion of pure disinformation.”
After the Southport killings posts swept across social media wrongly claiming the alleged attacker was a Muslim asylum seeker. Accounts with more than 100,000 followers shared a false name.
Sir has declined to say whether he would follow the advice of close Labour ally Lord Mandelson and end an ongoing online feud with Musk who has made a series of disparaging comments about the UK Government.
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Elon Musk celebrating at a rally for Donald Trump in the US (Image: Getty )
On Monday, Musk described the UK as “going full Stalin” because of the Government’s reforms to inheritance tax for farmers.
Labour peer Lord Mandelson, who is widely tipped to be the UK’s next ambassador to Washington, was speaking on the Times podcast How To Win An Election when he offered the advice to Sir Keir.
He described it as “unwise” for the UK to ignore Mr Musk, adding: “If I were the Government here, I’d be asking the embassy in Washington DC to find out who his other British friends are. Who are they all? And they’ve got to be used, I think, as a bridge to Musk. And so that’s what I would do.
“You know, swallow your pride, find out who his friends are and try and get into those networks. You cannot just continue this feud indefinitely. You’ve got to get over it.
“You’ve got to, he’s got to be reintroduced to the British Government.
“And one good way of doing that might be through some of his British friends, even if they are not, as I say, you know, bright red supporters of the Labour Government.”