Musk’s platforming of far-right politicians is endorsed by Trump, expert says
Marietje Schaake, a fellow at Stanford University and the author of the book “The Tech Coup, How To Save Democracy From Silicon Valley,” called the talk between tech billionaire Elon Musk and AfD leader Alice Weidel “very awkward, uncomfortable and underwhelming.”
She also added that there were not that many people and she had expected a bigger audience. “I think all the fears about this having a major impact are probably not going to be substantiated,” the expert added.
Schaake said that Musk is platforming far-right politicians and parties, not only through the streams, but also “through the algorithm, through the ranking and the curation of information on his platform, which is very influential.”
It remains to be seen whether that will have a big impact, Schaake said. “But I think the fact that he (Musk), as a confidant of President Trump, is trying to support these fringe parties, these far-right anti-establishment populist parties, says a lot,” she added.
“And we must see it as being condoned by Trump, endorsed by Trump and really as a precursor for a dramatic change in the trans-Atlantic relation,” Schaake stressed.
DW Fact check: Did Angela Merkel open Germany’s borders to illegal immigration in 2015?
The claim:”[Angela Merkel] enforced, without asking the people, she enforced to open our borders to illegal immigration,“ Alice Weidel said during the live talk.
The facts: Alice Weidel is referring to the events of early September 2015, when thousands of refugees made their way from Hungary to Germany via Austria. Then-Chancellor Angela Merkel decided not to close the border to stop them and temporarily suspended rules which would have meant return to the first EU country or safe transit country. This decision has been highly debated ever since.
The claim that Merkel “opened” the borders, is not accurate: In 2015, all of Germany‘s neighboring countries were part of the so-called Schengen area, meaning that there were no border controls between any of those countries and Germany.
On 13 September 2015, the German government instituted temporary border controls with Austria.
There has been debate about whether or not the government should have stopped the refugees from entering Germany in the first place. The country‘s immigration law states that foreigners shall be refused entry if they enter from a safe third country, which Austria is.
AfD’s digital popularity
The far-right Alternative for Germany (AfD) secured just over 30% of the vote in recent state elections in Thuringia and Saxony, which was partly attributed to the party’s effectiveness at reaching first-time voters on TikTok.
A study last year showed that politicians and figures linked to the AfD used TikTok as a “parallel universe” to spread extremism, while other German parties show “weak performance” on the platform.
This campaigning strategy, with a heavy focus on social media messaging and avenues traditional political campaigning might not reach, is also reminiscent of Donald Trump’s own tactics.
DW Fact check: Is nuclear energy carbon neutral?
The claim: Alice Weidel claimed during the Space with Musk, that “nuclear energy supply is carbon-free.”
The facts: By some institutions nuclear energy is considered a carbon-free source of electricity because it does not produce carbon dioxide (CO2) or other greenhouse gases during its operation. But considering the entire life cycle of a nuclear plant, nuclear energy produces emissions. The life cycle emissions of nuclear power plants include all stages from uranium mining to plant construction, operation, decommissioning, and waste management. Nuclear energy certainly has lower CO2 emissions than coal or natural gas, but it is not “carbon free.”
Source : https://www.dw.com/en/elon-musk-hosts-x-talk-with-german-far-right-afds-weidel/live-71245966
