this post was submitted on 28 Dec 2024
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The tech entrepreneur and close adviser to Donald Trump Elon Musk has taken a stunning new public step in his support for the far-right German political party Alternative for Germany (AfD), publishing a supportive guest opinion piece for the country’s Welt am Sonntag newspaper that has prompted the commentary editor to resign in protest.

The commentary piece in German was launched online on Saturday ahead of being published on Sunday in the flagship paper of the Axel Springer media group, which also owns the US politics news site Politico.

Musk uses populist and personal language to try to deny AfD’s extremist bent and the piece expands on his post on the social media platform X that he owns, on which he last week claimed that “only the AfD can save Germany”.

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[–] fine_sandy_bottom@discuss.tchncs.de 17 points 2 hours ago (1 children)

It seems bizarre to me that the prevailing assumption is that Musk's interests align with those of the working class.

As in, why TF would anyone who is not a billionaire want a billionaire to restructure government?

[–] jol@discuss.tchncs.de 7 points 1 hour ago

He's blunder in Sweden should tell everyone clearly where he stands on workers rights.

[–] etuomaala@sopuli.xyz 1 points 45 minutes ago

I'm having trouble finding the original op-ed. Could somebody provide a link?

[–] koper@feddit.nl 141 points 17 hours ago (5 children)

No respectable newspaper would platform a foreign billionaire trying to meddle in an election. The fact that the owners pushed this through, overruling their own staff, should be a clear sign to everyone: billionaires buy up news organizations to influence the population and undermine democracy. Even if the individual journalists have the utmost integrity, they will just get strong armed by upper management. The same thing happened with Bezos and the Washington Post.

[–] excral@feddit.org 4 points 1 hour ago

Welt am Sonntag ist part of the Springer Media Group. They have a long history of pushing populist, conservative and right agendas and publishing Musk's opinion piece falls perfectly in line with the election meddling they are doing.

[–] yournamehere@lemm.ee 2 points 2 hours ago

allies should have bombed the island of Föhr back then.

anyone remember how friede (head of the nazi news) transferred 1 billion € to one of her employees (döpfner) to start a TV station (BILD TV)? no taxes were paid because Friede is best friends with Angela Merkel. ofcourse BILD TV failed terribly but funds are used for propaganda.

anyway, if you ask the people that saw Friede Springer on Föhr grow up after WW2 might be able to tell you a story about how they let the refugees starve in the 50s. but officially everyone is just so scared of Friede Springer you'll never read about their murders.

[–] Saleh@feddit.org 44 points 15 hours ago

Note that political meddling and unscrupelous behaviour has always been the hallmark of the Axel-Springer Media.

They have successfully motivated the murder of the student activist Rudi Dutschke in the 60s by a Neonazi terrorist.

In 2011 they have cheered themselves for having pushed the then president of Germany Christian Wulff (it is a ceremonial role, the head of the executive is the chancellor) with a smear campaign based on lies and fabrications.

They hold the absolute majority of reprimands for violations of journalistic standards by the publishers organization ethics board Presserat.

The former editor in chief of the Bild Zeitung Julian Reichelt had to be kicked out a few years back for sexual harassment and coercion of multiple women employees. But only after the Company tried to keep it under covers and pressured another publisher to not publish their investigative research in Germany, so US media had to publish it first.

They were always like this and they will always be like this. Axel-Springer is also the main pro US and pro Israel voice in Germanys media landscape. It should be telling everyone where things are headed that they switched now from supporting the far right neoliberal FDP to the fascist AfD.

[–] aaron@lemm.ee 6 points 14 hours ago

It's already lost. Brace yourselves. Buy your fucking toilet paper now. This is hyper-fucked.

[–] CanadaPlus@lemmy.sdf.org 4 points 17 hours ago

Yes, but imagine all the rage clicks!

He's basically a professional media villain at this point. Not many people take him seriously, and I doubt the share among journalists is larger.

[–] SnotFlickerman@lemmy.blahaj.zone 188 points 19 hours ago* (last edited 19 hours ago) (1 children)

To anyone confused: Musk may live in the US, but like all the uber-wealthy, he doesn't consider himself a citizen of anywhere because he can jump in his private jet and fly anywhere on a whim without needing to have his passport checked by anyone.

These people do not live in the same world as us, and the fact that Musk is knee-deep in numerous countries politics is ample fucking evidence of such. He will support any group that benefits him in the short-term, that's all.

[–] AllNewTypeFace@leminal.space 34 points 17 hours ago

He believes that, as one of the Owners, it’s his prerogative to appoint the viceroys who will rule on his behalf. And that he owns enough of Germany to veto any reluctance they might have of having another Nazi government.

[–] FlyingSquid@lemmy.world 106 points 19 hours ago (3 children)
[–] Chip_Rat@lemmy.world 5 points 12 hours ago

This is AI generated! No way he actually ever styles his hair like that!

[–] aeronmelon@lemmy.world 31 points 19 hours ago (2 children)

“Jean-Baptiste… Emanuel… Zorg.”

[–] hakunawazo@lemmy.world 10 points 13 hours ago

And his worst enemy - fruit.

[–] FlyingSquid@lemmy.world 8 points 19 hours ago

That's not who I was thinking of, but sure. Him too.

[–] fxomt@lemm.ee 11 points 18 hours ago (2 children)

No need to compare him to Hitler, he's evil enough on his own.

[–] jol@discuss.tchncs.de 0 points 1 hour ago

Hitler did horrible things the old way, with killing and hotting. In many ways, these billionaires are worse. Not wanting to defend him, but Hitler didn't try to meddle with all governments around the world and enslave the whole working class. If people like Elmo get his way, slavery would be back on the menu.

[–] FlyingSquid@lemmy.world 13 points 18 hours ago

I call it as I see it.

[–] Glide@lemmy.ca 85 points 19 hours ago (1 children)

Billionaire Trump adviser said his ‘significant investments’ in the country justified his wading into German politics

At least we agree: his wealth is everyone's problem. The difference is that I think it's time we do something about it.

[–] frunch@lemmy.world 37 points 18 hours ago

Love that logic--"i opened up shop in your country, therefore i have the right to meddle with your politics"

[–] Colour_me_triggered@lemm.ee 21 points 16 hours ago (1 children)

Musk needs to fucking watch himself.

[–] Linktank@lemmy.today 17 points 13 hours ago (1 children)

It's like nobody is even TRYING to kill him.

[–] jol@discuss.tchncs.de 1 points 1 hour ago

I'm pretty sure he's avoiding being seen in public at all except for certain controlled environments.

[–] SatansMaggotyCumFart@lemmy.world 59 points 19 hours ago (2 children)
[–] Danquebec@sh.itjust.works 4 points 9 hours ago

It took me a while to notice.

For those still unaware: there are barely hidden salutes.

[–] dnzm@feddit.nl 27 points 18 hours ago (3 children)

Please tell me this is a joke. Are they really that blatant, and if so, why are they still not forbidden?

[–] Lumidaub@feddit.org 17 points 17 hours ago

They managed to get away with it because it says "we'll protect your children" - like a roof. Yes it is ridiculous, we're working on it.

[–] Saleh@feddit.org 9 points 15 hours ago (1 children)

Because the other parties are either eyeballing possible coalition options, are chickenshit or have adapted a lot of far right positions from the AfD and worry, that closer scrutiny would also bring them into question.

[–] Azzu@lemm.ee 1 points 2 hours ago

And the reason for these things is because the people support it, roughly 30%

[–] WheelcharArtist@lemmy.world 19 points 18 hours ago
[–] aeronmelon@lemmy.world 43 points 19 hours ago

pens German newspaper opinion piece supporting far-right

[–] T00l_shed@lemmy.world 22 points 19 hours ago (7 children)

Isn't he angry that the gop is full of racists. And now he's supporting the racist AfD? Man if only he could have some form of consistency. I'm sick and tired of him.

[–] floofloof@lemmy.ca 4 points 6 hours ago (1 children)

He's angry that the GOP might cut off his supply of cheap, vulnerable, exploitable H-1B workers. Otherwise, racism is still his thing.

[–] PanArab@lemm.ee 1 points 2 hours ago

We are witnessing two competing forms of racism. Which one will prevail? Exclusionary or exploitative?

[–] iAmTheTot@sh.itjust.works 25 points 19 hours ago

If he's angry that the GOP is full of racists then he's got a funny way of showing it.

[–] thejml@lemm.ee 11 points 18 hours ago (1 children)

Musk has been a racist for a long time, sounds like he finally found his people.

[–] T00l_shed@lemmy.world 5 points 17 hours ago

Oh, he is super racist

[–] Lumidaub@feddit.org 5 points 16 hours ago

Apparently he thinks the AfD and Obama era Democrats have the same political positions. So. Uh. I don't know, don't look at me like that. ¯⁠\⁠(⁠°⁠_⁠o⁠)⁠/⁠¯

[–] FlyingSquid@lemmy.world 9 points 19 hours ago

Isn’t he angry that the gop is full of racists.

Has he looked in the mirror lately?

[–] Drusas@fedia.io 5 points 17 hours ago

He's accusing others of racism, but it's really about him wanting cheap H-1B workers from India.

[–] andallthat@lemmy.world 5 points 18 hours ago

full of racists who say he can't be President and Emperor of the USA because he wasn't born there? I think that's what he means

[–] theacharnian@lemmy.ca 6 points 18 hours ago (2 children)

Why the Welt am Sonntag? Was the Bild overbooked? Because that's where this kind of trash belongs in.

[–] rimjob_rainer@discuss.tchncs.de 16 points 16 hours ago

Welt is Bild in disguise. Same publisher.

[–] Mim@lemmy.zip 15 points 17 hours ago

They both belong to the Axel Springer corpo. Same AS politico by the way.

[–] hsdkfr734r@feddit.nl 4 points 19 hours ago* (last edited 19 hours ago) (1 children)

Meh. Musk isn't needed for people to vote for the fear mongers. (Also Hasselhoff had no hands in the fall of the berlin wall. Sorry :)

That's a self made social problem (i.e. falling trust in the often untrustworthy politicians - i'm looking at you cum-ex-olaf or at you sabotaging-every-effort-Lindner). And an educational problem (eh, a well funded education system in country without substantial natural resources, who needs that anyways? Political education? Pfff, who cares.)

People have fears, opportunists use fears to gain power. I think.

[–] FlyingSquid@lemmy.world 1 points 19 hours ago (1 children)

(Also Hasselhoff had no hands in the fall of the berlin wall. Sorry :)

You think you're sorry?

[–] hsdkfr734r@feddit.nl 4 points 18 hours ago* (last edited 18 hours ago)

Please don't. Alcoholism is a disease. That's different.

Edit: wording