Federal election campaign: Federal government sees attempted influence by Musk

The federal government sees US billionaire Elon Musk’s renewed campaign for the AfD as an attempt to influence the German election campaign. He is free to express his opinion, said deputy government spokeswoman Christiane Hoffmann in Berlin. At the same time, she emphasized: “In fact, Elon Musk is trying to influence the federal election through his statements.” Elections are decided by the voters when they vote and are a German matter.

Musk, who is also the owner of Platform Hoffmann said freedom of expression is a valuable asset. You don’t have to share this opinion. She basically pointed out that Musk had recommended voting for a party that was being observed by the Office for the Protection of the Constitution as a suspected right-wing extremist case.

The spokeswoman made it clear about the guest article in the newspaper and the attitude of Chancellor Olaf Scholz (SPD): “The Chancellor is not commenting on editorial decisions that have been made. Under no circumstances.”

Regarding the question of whether the federal government wants to remain active on platform At the same time, however, it is important to consider what would happen if one were to leave these channels and therefore no longer be able to reach users. “In this balance, we are of the opinion at the moment that it is right to be there.”