The German Bundestag has launched an investigation into a conversation between billionaire and X owner Elon Musk and the leader of the far-right Alternative for Germany (AfD), Alice Weidel, for possible illegal donations. This was reported by Welt.
A spokesperson for the Bundestag stated, “We are currently investigating the facts of the case.”
Musk is known to openly promote the AfD on his social network X (Twitter). On January 10, he broadcast his conversation with Weidel on the platform.
The non-governmental organization LobbyControl has previously pointed out that Musk’s support for the AfD could be an illegal party donation.
“A much tougher approach against the politically one-sided social media platform X should also be on the political agenda in Europe. It is about saving our democratic public from the influence of a US tech billionaire. The urgency of this is shown by Musk’s influence in favor of the AfD and other right-wing extremist parties in Europe. The planned conversation between Musk and Alice Weidel could potentially constitute an illegal donation to a political party. Musk clearly announced his goal of strengthening the AfD,” it stated.
According to the organization, posts by regular users on X are unlikely to receive as much coverage as Musk’s conversation with Weidel.
“In this context, we can certainly talk about political advertising here, as the X platform usually sells such coverage for a lot of money,” the organization said.
Early 2024 reforms to the party law classified election advertising from third parties as a party contribution.
Party donations from non-EU countries are also prohibited.
According to the Political Parties Act, the German Bundestag is responsible for scrutinizing the correctness of party funding and election advertising.
The day before, Musk held a conversation with the leader of the far-right Alternative for Germany, Alice Weidel, on the X platform, during which they criticized the “leftism” in German education and bureaucracy, and also claimed that “Hitler was a communist” rather than a Nazi.
The American billionaire had previously publicly stated that “only the AfD can save Germany.”
German Chancellor Olaf Scholz expressed his concerns about Musk’s support for Alternative for Germany a few weeks before the snap elections.
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