This explainer misses the key bit that Musk was responding to GB News’ coverage of the gangs and associated chatter, which is now indirectly leading the BBC’s bulletins. - ThreadSky

jim.londoncentric.media • 64 days ago

This explainer misses the key bit that Musk was responding to GB News’ coverage of the gangs and associated chatter, which is now indirectly leading the BBC’s bulletins.

Reposted from Financial Times

Why has Elon Musk reignited debate over the UK rape gangs scandal?

https://www.ft.com/content/a2ff027d-be2a-40ff-ada7-6dc2bf31e3db

Comments

ktmartin.bsky.social•64 days ago

He might have been responding to GB News, but why does the rest of the media have to follow in the way they do? It's been personal attacks with little reporting of facts or context. Victoria Derbyshire listed all the reports, why can't the rest do the same? State facts and ask why.

bob1945.bsky.social•64 days ago

Would you expect him to now talk about Trump’s rape charges?

londondiscuss.bsky.social•64 days ago

Is it not more likely that Farage who visited the US again over the holidays Musk and GBN coordinated the subject. They work together on these attacks. Multiple outlets in unison. Musk has then decided Farage isn't going far enough/ he's in charge.

murphytweets.bsky.social•64 days ago

Yep. And that’s why they don’t mind tanking cash.

jonnygf.bsky.social•61 days ago

Because is on crystal meth

oldladyhembrew.bsky.social•64 days ago

Here's the link to the archived version of the article without the paywall and the added bonus of not giving the FT the clicks. https://archive.is/QY8xJ

jim.londoncentric.media•61 days ago

That @jakekanter.bsky.social has nailed how Musk's pick-up of the gangs follows original reporting by one reporter at GB News, responding to audience demand. All aided by a genuine lack of mainstream court coverage of such cases due to the collapse in trad local news. https://deadline.com/2025/01/elon-musk-uk-grooming-gang-scandal-driven-by-gb-news-1236250381/

julialamberth.bsky.social•61 days ago

Problem is the story has been weaponised by the RW. What about Andrew Norfolk of the Times who broke the story & spent 4 years investigating it? Listening to him on The Newsagents yesterday was hard but he’s on top of the facts & dosn’t pull his punches. Why don’t more journalists speak to him?

rmcunliffe.bsky.social•61 days ago

My big question was why was renewed discourse over the grooming gangs scandal, complete with screenshots of old court documents, trending on Twitter the week *before* GB News reported the Oldham Council news. It was surreal to watch all this stuff from years ago suddenly going viral again

nonrenormalizable.bsky.social•61 days ago

I think the UK political media underestimate how much of this is discussed online, constantly circulating through various fora. It's not just X, and the people talking are not just angry 50 year old blokes who last had hair when Be Here Now came out.

nonrenormalizable.bsky.social•61 days ago

Every time immigration comes in the news, these incidents are referred to. The language this week about mass expulsions and "certain ethnicities" has been honed in Reddit threads and one gets the sense there is an organised attempt to push it into the mainstream when a big story happens.

nonrenormalizable.bsky.social•61 days ago

Apart from his own site, it's likely Musk frequents other places where this stuff is discussed. I don't think the whole "Adrian Dittman" thing got covered in the UK media (possibly for legal reasons), but he does appear to get info from 4chan.

nonrenormalizable.bsky.social•61 days ago

Perhaps you're well aware of this, but I'm just surprised how major UK news outlets convey Musk's comments with an air of shock that he's picked up on some niche local news. He's immersed in the online far-right and these stories are their twisted parables.

jim.londoncentric.media•61 days ago

Really shocking things are still shocking if you haven't seen them before. If you don't have anyone saying 'that's old news' then the whole new audience can be shocked just as much as first time around. Everything's available forever in technicolour, nothing becomes yellowing paper.

samwilson.bsky.social•61 days ago

This happened to the Church of England this year.

For those of us who were keyed in, all the information has been public for years. But then someone summarises it differently, the media pick it up in a way they haven’t previously, and suddenly the Archbishop is resigning

davesrants.com•61 days ago

I felt like that about the Post Office scandal this time last year. The ITV doc didn't really raise anything that wasn't known of before!

jim.londoncentric.media•61 days ago

I think that's fine and one of the lessons I've learned over years of journalism is that retelling stories is fine and important and part of the process. So I don't really think screaming "this has already been out there" at people who are genuinely shocked helps much.

rmcunliffe.bsky.social•61 days ago

I feel exactly the same

benfenton.bsky.social•61 days ago

A story's not old until it's retold, was the old Telegraph motto.

rmcunliffe.bsky.social•61 days ago

This goes back to people instinctively thinking that if they didn't know something, it wasn't covered.

But something very odd was happening on the Twitter algorithm in the run-up to Christmas. A normal (if heated) debate on immigration suddenly caught the attention of the Americans and blew up

sophyridge.bsky.social•61 days ago

I think it was reignited because of the court transcript of Mohammed Karrar. Which Musk has said he read. The thing is people are right they didn’t read that before - because the sexual violence is so graphic it won’t have been mentioned on 6 o’clock news

ianrobo.bsky.social•61 days ago

but Sophy here is the issue, you are thinking Musk gives a toss about these cases and the girls ? he does not, if her did why is he not demanding the full release of everything Epstein related, a clear bigger than Oldham grooming case ... you are part of the problem if you don't admit this ?

sophyridge.bsky.social•61 days ago

This is a genuine challenge for “MSM” - not reporting details because of broadcasting rules or because shocking/offensive - but you can read them on social media - feels like things have been “covered up”

cjmckeon.bsky.social•61 days ago

I've been slightly confused about this - when they say "transcripts", do they mean the sentencing remarks, or has someone paid thousands for actual transcripts of the evidence?

rmcunliffe.bsky.social•61 days ago

Was the transcript recently published? Or has it all been in the public domain for years, and the sudden attention came down to one person sharing the (horrific) screenshots as part of the back-and-forth, and then that going viral because of how awful the details are?

nonrenormalizable.bsky.social•61 days ago

Bear in mind this was also around the time Musk was having his argument with the MAGA base about H1-B visas and immigration from India to the US. A lot of anti-South Asian sentiment was going around and perhaps this influenced the algorithm.

nonrenormalizable.bsky.social•61 days ago

But having come out on the more "pro-immigration" side, Musk may now be trying to gain support by showing his MAGA bona fides by going after what to him is the "wrong sort" of immigrant, in a country where he won't face the material consequences of doing so.

berndporr.bsky.social•64 days ago

The Telegraph has also conveniently churning out story over story over the festive period isn't it? Perfect time when people have loads of time on social media...

jim.londoncentric.media•64 days ago

It’s not a conspiracy though…. Just think it’s worth noting that. GBN decided to make this a story to revisit and did.

berndporr.bsky.social•64 days ago

Quite remarkable that they are leading the pack and the traditional media follows suit. I still remember the twitter account which documented all the amateurish mistakes of GBN a few years ago.

jim.londoncentric.media•64 days ago

People should watch GBN. It’s very watchable and attuned to its audience.

berndporr.bsky.social•64 days ago

In the morning Guardian and in the evening GBnews for a balanced media diet.
( actually in Stockholm at Slussen was/is a neon sign: Dagens Nyheter in the morning, Expressen in the evening ).

berndporr.bsky.social•64 days ago

martin-griffin.bsky.social•64 days ago

GBN and the right wing press knowing how to feed trolls.

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