Row between Elon Musk and Germany's ZDF sparks major controversy

The dispute between US tech entrepreneur Elon Musk and the public broadcaster ZDF is causing a major stir across Germany.

In its coverage of last week’s anti-immigrant riots in Belfast, an edition of “ZDFheute live” said that Musk had called for “a migrant hunt” in his social media posts about Northern Ireland.

On Monday, Musk called ZDF’s characterisation of his words a “terrible lie” and said he was pursuing legal action against the broadcaster, which has since removed the contested passage.

On 9 June, Musk shared a post by British far-right activist Tommy Robinson in which Robinson, following the knife attack by a Sudanese man in Belfast, called for protests.

Musk commented: “Only by protesting REPEATEDLY and LOUDLY will there be any change!!”

ZDF has since confirmed “that Elon Musk, via a German law firm, demanded a cease-and-desist declaration concerning the opening presentation of the 12 June 2026 edition of ‘ZDFheute live’ entitled ‘Riots in Belfast – How Musk is fuelling the protests.’ ZDF has complied and removed the disputed passage from the introduction. As early as Saturday, ZDF had added a corrective transparency note to the programme.”

The broadcaster added a disclaimer to the online version of the broadcast in question in which it admitted that its words were “imprecise and potentially misleading.”

According to the BBC, the US-based Centre for Countering Digital Hate said social media had played a “key role” in stoking the violence in Belfast.

At the same time, the organisation accused Musk of having amplified “anti-migrant narratives” spread by others and extended their reach to millions of users.

Support from the German right

The far-right Alternative for Germany (AfD) came out in support of Musk in the row with ZDF.

Joining in on the debate, AfD co-leader Alice Weidel posted on X saying: “Defamation shouldn’t go without consequences. Don’t let them get away with it.”

Musk has been a vocal supporter of the AfD in recent years and has also backed other far-right parties in Europe.

The row is being further fuelled by editor-in-chief of the right-wing news portal, Julian Reichelt.

The former editor-in-chief of the daily tabloid Bild wrote on X: “Lerchenberg is a fortress of lies. ZDF simply invents the claim that Elon Musk ‘called for a hunt for migrants.’ In fact, Musk wrote on X: “Only by protesting REPEATEDLY and LOUDLY will there be any change!!” How much longer are we going to accept that this state forces us to pay for the propaganda lies it tells us? And how can it be that at ZDF heute there is constant lying, deception and manipulation with words and AI, without any personal consequences?'”

In his statement in support of Musk, Reichelt also mentioned Germany’s public broadcasting licence fees, whose abolition the AfD has made one of its flagship policy points.

Additional sources • AFP

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