Elon Musk joins outcry over claims a UK government unit worked with social media companies to stifle criticism of Covid lockdowns
- Report claims CDU was used during pandemic to dampen criticism of lockdown
Elon Musk has joined the outcry over allegations that a UK government unit worked with social media companies to stifle criticism of Covid lockdown policies.
A report claims the Counter-Disinformation Unit (CDU), which leads the government’s response to online ‘disinformation threats’, has been used during the pandemic to rein in critics of the lockdown.
Documents uncovered under freedom of information and data protection requests showed the activities of prominent critics of Covid policies were being secretly monitored, according to the Daily Telegraph report.
Elon Musk (pictured) has joined the outcry over allegations that a UK government unit worked with social media companies to stifle criticism of Covid lockdown policies
In April 2020, Mr Musk joined an anti-lockdown protest, tweeting: “Free America now”. He then clarified this by saying shops and businesses should ‘reopen with care and appropriate protection’
Twitter and Tesla owner Mr Musk, 51, called the alleged use “terrible”.
But a government spokesman said: ‘The unit has never tracked the activity of individuals and has a blanket ban on referring journalists and MPs to social media platforms.
In April 2020, Mr Musk joined an anti-lockdown protest, tweeting: “Free America now”. He then clarified this by saying that shops and businesses should “reopen with care and appropriate protection”.
