Elon Musk: Europe’s Bloviator-in-Chief

EU Confidential

POLITICO

Politics, News Commentary, News

4.4 • 175 Ratings

🗓️ 10 January 2025

⏱️ 31 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

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Summary

The world’s richest man has a lot to say, a vast platform, and the ear of U.S. President-elect Donald Trump. Now he has turned his focus to Europe. As Elon Musk weighs in on European politics, often supporting extreme candidates and promoting conspiracies, Brussels tech regs appear no match for the algorithmic onslaught. For former MEP Marietje Schaake, now International Policy Director at Stanford University’s Cyber Policy Center, it’s just a small part of Europe’s subordination to Silicon Valley, as described in her book “The Tech Coup.” She joins Rasmus Kleis Nielsen, professor at the University of Copenhagen and co-author of “The Power of Platforms,” and host Sarah Wheaton to discuss the political trade-offs of free speech. And in case you need extra motivation to fulfill those New Year’s resolutions, we introduce you to “sweatworking.” POLITICO’s Kathryn Carlson explains the art of schmoozing and schvitzing at Brussels’ high-end gyms. Further reading: Sweatworking: How the gym became Brussels’ elite new lobbying spot, by Kathryn Carlson and Federica Di Sario ‘Nobody was tricked into voting for Trump’: Why the disinformation panic is over, by Laurie Clarke Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Transcript

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0:00.0	Adobe Express makes it quick and easy to create everything I need for my business,
0:05.2	from social posts, TikToks and flyers, all in just a few clicks.
0:09.7	Get Adobe Express for free.
0:11.6	Search for Adobe Express to find out more.
0:16.6	We need to talk about Elon.
0:19.6	He's made it unavoidable with his new role as Europe's self-appointed, Loviator-in-chief.
0:27.5	Elon Musk is the world's richest man.
0:30.7	Born in South Africa, raised in Canada, and now set to hold a powerful role in the U.S. government.
0:37.0	He's flooding his social media platform X with messages about hot-button issues on this side of the Atlantic.
0:43.5	And they're anything but subtle.
0:45.9	He's called Chancellor Olaf Schultz a fool, just weeks before the German election,
0:50.8	while offering a prime time interview to the head of the far-right AFD.
0:55.6	Alice Beel, who is currently the leading cabinet to run Germany, I think, most popular in the
1:02.6	falls. Welcome, Alice. Thank you very much, Leland, for having me and to give this opportunity
1:07.6	to openly speak about different matters.
1:11.6	Over in the UK,
1:13.6	Musk has unleashed a volley of attacks against Prime Minister Kirstarmer,
1:17.6	and all of these messages are popping up in your X-Feed
1:20.6	whether you follow at Elon Musk or not.
1:33.3	In Brussels, alarm bells are ringing and calls for action are growing louder, and Facebook's fresh move to fire its fact-checkers is only adding to the angst.
1:39.3	Are the EU's tech regulations any match for the likes of Elon Musk, or is the continent now beholden
1:45.4	to a conspiracy-prone tech tycoon? And what happens when the right to free and fair elections
	...

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