Name: Musk vs EU: Fact-checking tech billionaires X claims on Europe
Uploaded: 2025-12-12T17:14:03.467Z
Duration: 1 min 59 s
Description: Elon Musk made and reshared a series of misleading and sensationalized claims related to Europe on his X platform in the aftermath of a fine imposed on X by the European Commission for failing to comply with its transparency duties.

Elon Musk made and reshared a series of misleading and sensationalized claims related to Europe on his X platform in the aftermath of a fine imposed on X by the European Commission for failing to comply with its transparency duties.

Euronews has fact-checked several claims made and reshared by Elon Musk on his platform X after the European Commission imposed a €120 million fine for alleged transparency violations. The article addresses Musk's amplification of a false report about a Christmas market attack, his assertion that X became the top news app in every European country, and his suggestion that Europeans broadly support large-scale deportation of migrants.

The investigation found that the Christmas market attack was misrepresented, with no fatalities or terror motive, and that X is not the most popular news app overall in Europe. Additionally, surveys indicate that support for mass deportations is limited to irregular migrants or those who have committed crimes, not all citizens with foreign backgrounds.

Musk vs EU: Fact-checking tech billionaire's X claims on Europe

Fact-checking Elon Musk's tirade against Europe. Tech billionaire Elon Musk launched a tirade of criticism against the European Union over the weekend. His comments follow a €120m fine imposed on his ex-platform by the European Commission for allegedly violating its transparency obligations. Musk and US President Donald Trump have slammed the fine and questioned Europe's political direction in its aftermath. But diplomacy aside, Musk also reshared a number of claims about Europe on X over the weekend that are misleading or lack credible evidence. Firstly, Musk reshared a post condemning a Christmas market attack posted by British far-right activist Tommy Robinson. According to Robinson, 10 people were killed in the incident, which he said was part of an Islamist plot. His claims are, however, false. Although a number of people were injured, no one was killed and the attack was not linked to any terror motive. Musk also posted numerous claims that after the fine, X jumped to the number one news app in every European country. App charts on both Apple and Google Play show that while X is number one in many European countries in the news category, it's not listed in charts for the most popular or most downloaded app in Europe. Longer term research also indicates that when Europeans turn to social media for news, apps like Instagram, TikTok and YouTube rank higher. Finally, Musk shared posts suggesting that Europeans support re-migration, a concept that's broadly understood to involve the large-scale deportation of migrants. But public surveys show that support for removing migrants is generally limited to irregular migrants or those who have committed crimes. There is no public survey that suggests Europeans support mass expulsions of all citizens with a foreign background.

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