American entrepreneur Elon Musk announced a lawsuit against the German channel ZDF. The reason was a report on xenophobic protests in Northern Ireland, in which Musk was accused of calling for a hunt on migrants.
American entrepreneur Elon Musk announced his intention to sue the German public broadcaster ZDF for its coverage of his statements regarding xenophobic protests in Northern Ireland. "Legal action will be taken against ZDF for its monstrous lies," Musk wrote on his social network X on the evening of Monday, June 15.
The reason was a publication by German publicist Julian Reichelt, who criticized ZDF's report claiming that Musk allegedly "called for a hunt on migrants."
What exactly did Elon Musk say
Last week, Musk shared on X posts from British far-right activist Tommy Robinson and the chairman of the far-right party Restore UK, Rupert Lowe.
The owner of X joined Robinson's calls to protest across the UK and wrote to his 240 million followers: "Only if we protest loudly and repeatedly will anything change."
This phrase was interpreted by ZDF as a call for the persecution of migrants - Reichelt called ZDF a "fortress of lies" and characterized the accusations against Musk as "propaganda lies."
ZDF acknowledged the inaccuracy
Later, Reichelt posted on X a photo allegedly containing ZDF's response to his accusations. The channel's statement acknowledged that the wording was "inaccurate and therefore allowed for misinterpretation."
However, Reichelt rejected this explanation, calling the incident "outright lies" and demanding to "smash" ZDF. In response to this post, Elon Musk announced his intention to sue the German channel.
Protests in Belfast
Last week, fierce protests against Muslims took place in the vicinity of Belfast over several evenings, called for by far-right activists. Police used water cannons against participants throwing stones at law enforcement. Cars and residential buildings were set on fire.
The unrest was sparked by the publication of a video showing an alleged migrant from Sudan attempting to cut off the head of a man lying on the ground with a knife.
Reichelt is the editor-in-chief of the online portal Nius, which is associated with right-wing populist publications. Until the fall of 2021, he served as the editor-in-chief of the Bild newspaper.
