Tech billionaire and Twitter/X owner Elon Musk earned the wrath of the German government and state-controlled media for highlighting the nefarious role played by country’s NGOs in promoting migrant trafficking in the Mediterranean Sea.
Commenting in a post on Friday, Musk asked if the “German public [is] aware” that NGOs funded by their own government were behind the massive migrant wave that is presently sweeping the shores of Italy.
“Yes. And it’s called saving lives,” German foreign ministry self-righteously responded on X.
Replying to another post about the massive maritime operation run by state-funded German and other European NGOs, Musk quipped that it sounded “a lot more like human trafficking than saving lives.”
The Associated Press summed-up the online spat:
Germany’s government rebuked X owner Elon Musk after he criticized the recent work of migrant rescue ships that German humanitarian groups operate in the Mediterranean Sea.Musk late Friday shared a video that showed migrants and aid workers on a boat. The right-wing account that first put the content on X, formerly known as Twitter, praised the populist far-right Alternative for Germany party, which has taken a hard line on migration issues.“Is the German public aware of this?” Musk wrote in his repost.The German Federal Foreign Office replied to Musk directly on X, writing: “Yes. And it’s called saving lives.”Musk responded that he doubted the German public supports the actions of non-governmental organizations that take asylum-seekers from unseaworthy vessels in the Mediterranean. He also asserted it was “surely” a violation of Italy’s sovereignty for German-operated ships to bring rescued migrants to Italian territory.“So you’re actually proud of it. Interesting,” he wrote to the Foreign Office, adding that he thinks such maritime operations have “invasion vibes.”https://twitter.com/elonmusk/status/1707894939265421457
Musk’s postings angered many in the EU establishment, with some demanding more censorship and regulations on social media.
While the German foreign ministry claims that NGOs are “saving lives,” newly released documents expose large-scale collusion between these state-funded groups and human traffickers in North Africa.
“Investigation shows evidence that some NGOs are working with people smugglers and employ tricks to cover up the cooperation,” the German weekly Focus reported Sunday, citing newly uncovered documents and video evidence. “Sicilian prosecutors believe that systematic rescue operations conducted by the NGOs near the coast of Libya make the smuggling business easier,” the magazine added.
Germany’s state-run ZDF TV accused Musk of sharing talking points of the German opposition AfD party.
“Tesla founder and billionaire Elon Musk used his online platform X (formerly Twitter) to interfere in German politics a week ahead of the elections in the states of Bavaria and Hesse,” the broadcaster complained.
“Musk shared a post of an X user, who is critical of immigration, asking people to vote for the AfD and criticized German migration policy,” the state-controlled news outlet added. Musk’s “posting on X criticizes the fact that eight German ships belonging to non-governmental organizations are currently taking in refugees and migrants from the Mediterranean in order to bring them to Italy.”
The German state media has long been critical of Musk, who refuses to submit to the globalist woke agenda. “Elon Musk spreads misleading statements about the climate statements,” German state TV DW reported in July. “Twitter owner Elon Musk has publicly rejected the irrefutable effect of farming on global warming. Concerns about growing misinformation on the powerful social media platform is on the rise.”
With the German political establishment fuming over Musk’s comments, support came from Germany’s AfD party, which is currently surging in polls in the wake of the new migrant crisis. Party leader Alice Weidel slammed the German media for downplaying the migrant influx and flooding the airwaves with the alarmist climate agenda.
The axis between these NGOs and human traffickers has created a perfect migrant storm on the coast of Italy. Tens of thousands of illegal migrants have swarmed the Italian island of Lampedusa, reducing the native Italian population to a minority within the span of a few weeks.
[Excerpts from German news reports translated by the author]
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