The way the world's richest man, Elon Musk, is getting involved in US politics shows how billionaires with control over social media can influence public opinion and potentially sway elections.

"Since Elon Musk took over X, the platform has devolved into a hellscape of hate and disinformation — much of which comes from Mr. Musk himself," Imran Ahmed, head of the Center for Countering Digital Hate (CCDH), told DW.

Unlike most tech billionaires and political donors, Musk's political involvement is highly visible and intensified ahead of the US presidential election on November 5. A recent CCDH report found that Musk's false or misleading claims about the US election got 1.2 billion views between January and July 2024 on the social media platform X (formerly Twitter), which he owns.

Musk's role as a source of mis- and disinformation extends beyond his own posts. He frequently retweets or engages with false and misleading claims and conspiracy theories, and his engagement gives these posts an immense reach.

Here are three examples of how Musk is spreading false claims ahead of the US election.

Claim: In July, US Republican House Speaker Mike Johnson suggested Democrats "want to turn illegal aliens into voters." Musk retweeted this claim, adding that "the goal all along has been to import as many illegal voters as possible," implying that immigrants are being brought into the country to support Democrats. The post has received more than 45 million views.

DW fact check: False

Only US citizens can vote in US federal elections. "Noncitizens, including........

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