German public broadcaster Zweites Deutsches Fernsehen retracted an inflammatory claim about trillionaire Elon Musk and the Belfast riots after he threatened legal action.
On a June 12 program of ZDFheute Live, an episode titled “Riots in Belfast — How Musk Fueled the Protests” claimed Musk directly called for a mob to hunt down migrants. After being brought to his attention, Musk’s lawyers sent a cease-and-desist letter to ZDF, saying it had aired “outrageous lies.” The outlet complied, removed the targeted passage, and said in subsequent disclaimers that the wording was removed for legal reasons.
“The ZDF confirms that Elon Musk, through a German law firm, demanded a cease-and-desist declaration,” the broadcaster told Politico. “The ZDF complied, submitted the declaration and removed the passage in question from the introduction.”
Musk’s lawyer, Joachim Steinhöfel, said he was satisfied with the response.
“The libelous defamation of Mr. Musk by ZDF was journalistically completely unjustifiable,” Steinhöfel told the outlet. “Thus, I am pleased by our successful enforcement of the cease-and-desist undertaking.”
The disputed passage was the intro to the program, which claimed the Belfast riots, which shook the city after a Sudanese immigrant attempted to behead a local, were instigated by Musk.
“A racist mob went on a hunt for migrants. This was called for by a British right-wing extremist and tech millionaire Elon Musk,” a ZDF presenter said.
After German X accounts posted about the segment, Musk vowed that legal action was being taken against the network for its “outrageous lies.”
The attempted beheading in Belfast last week triggered a deluge of outrage from Britons, feeding into growing discontent around recent waves of mass immigration to the island nation. The Labour government responded by attempting to frame the outrage as not genuine, but rather instigated by Musk and other nefarious foreigners. The angle latched on elsewhere in government and liberal circles around Europe, including Germany.
POLICE CRACK DOWN ON BELFAST PROTESTS AFTER ATTEMPTED BEHEADING: ‘RACIST THUGGERY’
Limited protests over the Belfast attack took place across the United Kingdom, but the most concerted demonstrations were in Belfast itself. Masked gangs, believed to be Protestant loyalists, launched raids against immigrant housing and public infrastructure, setting fire to buses and destroying immigrant apartment blocs. No immigrants were hurt in the attacks, but police escorted frightened residents elsewhere.
Musk joined in the wider outrage following the attempted beheading but never publicly called for or praised the riots.