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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[–] febra@lemmy.world 3 points 6 days ago

So you want to tell me that a nazi supports nazis??

He really wants to be Göring.

[–] SnotFlickerman@lemmy.blahaj.zone 223 points 1 week ago* (last edited 1 week 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 52 points 1 week ago (3 children)

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.

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[–] koper@feddit.nl 178 points 1 week ago (6 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.

[–] Draedron@lemmy.dbzer0.com 1 points 6 days ago

Die Welt is not reapectable. Its Springer Verlag. Basically the Murdoch of Germany.

[–] Saleh@feddit.org 57 points 1 week 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.

[–] excral@feddit.org 21 points 1 week 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.

[–] aaron@lemm.ee 7 points 1 week ago

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

[–] yournamehere@lemm.ee 6 points 1 week ago (4 children)

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.

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[–] FlyingSquid@lemmy.world 124 points 1 week ago (3 children)
[–] aeronmelon@lemmy.world 34 points 1 week ago (2 children)

“Jean-Baptiste… Emanuel… Zorg.”

[–] hakunawazo@lemmy.world 14 points 1 week ago

And his worst enemy - fruit.

[–] FlyingSquid@lemmy.world 8 points 1 week ago

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

[–] fxomt@lemm.ee 11 points 1 week ago (4 children)

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

[–] FlyingSquid@lemmy.world 14 points 1 week ago

I call it as I see it.

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[–] Glide@lemmy.ca 99 points 1 week 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 46 points 1 week ago

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

[–] SatansMaggotyCumFart@lemmy.world 73 points 1 week ago (2 children)
[–] dnzm@feddit.nl 32 points 1 week 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 28 points 1 week 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 11 points 1 week 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.

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[–] Danquebec@sh.itjust.works 6 points 1 week ago

It took me a while to notice.

For those still unaware: there are barely hidden salutes.

[–] aeronmelon@lemmy.world 50 points 1 week ago

pens German newspaper opinion piece supporting far-right

[–] fine_sandy_bottom@discuss.tchncs.de 47 points 1 week ago (2 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?

[–] Draedron@lemmy.dbzer0.com 1 points 6 days ago

The AfD does not have interests in favour of the working class. They constantly vote against laws helping anyone but the rich. They are just a tool for the rich and russia to destabilize our democracy.

[–] jol@discuss.tchncs.de 21 points 1 week ago* (last edited 1 week ago) (5 children)

His blunder in Sweden should tell everyone clearly where he stands on workers rights.

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[–] T00l_shed@lemmy.world 27 points 1 week ago (8 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.

[–] iAmTheTot@sh.itjust.works 29 points 1 week 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 13 points 1 week ago (1 children)

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

[–] T00l_shed@lemmy.world 7 points 1 week ago

Oh, he is super racist

[–] FlyingSquid@lemmy.world 10 points 1 week ago

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

Has he looked in the mirror lately?

[–] floofloof@lemmy.ca 9 points 1 week 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 9 points 1 week ago

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

[–] Lumidaub@feddit.org 6 points 1 week 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)⁠/⁠¯

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[–] nifty@lemmy.world 19 points 1 week ago (1 children)

You know, if people like Musk hate immigration so much then they should encourage investment and peace in other countries so that people don’t want to leave their home countries.

No one really wants to go to Europe etc., they’re either literally dying in poverty or being killed in their own countries.

Let’s be honest, the poor state of countries where these immigrants are coming from is the fault of decades of neoconservative policies of regional destabilization. The West needs to answers for its short-sighted thinking now, and they’re having a hard time understanding how this is a self created problem.

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[–] blarth@thelemmy.club 14 points 1 week ago (1 children)

Damn, gotta wonder what Putin has on Elon.

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[–] theacharnian@lemmy.ca 8 points 1 week 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 20 points 1 week ago

Welt is Bild in disguise. Same publisher.

[–] Mim@lemmy.zip 20 points 1 week ago

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

[–] Gammelfisch@lemmy.world 7 points 1 week ago (5 children)

Musk fails to understand the racist themselves are attracted to the people they want to kill. DNA samples were taken from Hitler's relatives and they found Haplogroup E1b1b1, which means the motherfucker was part African and Jewish. His excuse for supporting Weidel and the fucking AfD is pathetic.

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[–] ThomasCrappersGhost@feddit.uk 6 points 1 week ago (2 children)

Come off it, that man hasn’t written anything.

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