Elon Musk has called the editor of the Economist a 'traitor to the west' after a long interview in which the two clashed over misinformation, race, immigration and the safety of European cities. The exchange illustrates the collision between an 182-year-old institution promoting economic liberalism and freedom, and the world's first trillionaire, who spreads misinformation to hundreds of millions of followers on his own social media platform.
The interview's flash points
The flash points in Zanny Minton Beddoes' conversation with Musk began with definitions. Musk said that the people Minton Beddoes described as 'far-right' and 'fringe' – she mentioned Germany's AfD party – were in fact just 'normal people'. They disagreed over whether the speed of his cuts to USAID had led to unnecessary deaths in developing countries; Minton Beddoes believed his claim that it had not defied both statistics and the evidence from her reporters on the ground.
Asked if he is racist, Musk cited the fact that he has four children with a woman who is 'half Indian'. When Minton Beddoes asked whether he is anti-Muslim, Musk said he is against 'people coming to a country with antithetical views … I'm against rape and murder.'
The tone shifted when Minton Beddoes accused Musk of spreading misinformation about Europe, particularly her home town of London, telling him that statistics show it is safer than most large US cities. She appeared genuinely irritated that he rejected evidence that violent crime was far lower than he claimed and that grooming gangs were not terrorising the streets. After she asked whether he understands why this makes people loathe him, the exchange became a playground spat. Musk pointed out that with so many followers on X, he must be popular. 'Besides,' he said, 'they hate you far more than they hate me.' Minton Beddoes admitted the media were losing trust.
A spat played out on X
The interview appeared to end with the two agreeing to disagree; they even continued chatting while Musk had his photo taken. When Minton Beddoes promoted the interview on X, Musk reposted it with the line 'zany interview with Zanny'. She liked it so much that she reposted his repost. After some of his followers posted rude things about the media, Musk piled on, referring to 'the reality distortion nightmare mirror that is the legacy mainstream press'. By the weekend he was calling her a 'traitor to the west'.
Minton Beddoes later said she was 'bemused' but not scared by the 'more and more aggressive' response. She told Radio 4's Media Show she had learned not to look at online comments. 'If you scroll through them and read hundreds of things saying how awful you are, it's not very pleasant, so don't do it.'
Journalists under pressure
It comes as the latest government-backed investigation into the safety of journalists found that many admitted to self-censoring reports on contentious issues such as rightwing protest for fear of being attacked. The report said throwaway vitriolic comments about journalists were directly linked to increased aggression online and offline, and that female journalists bear the brunt of this aggression.
The shift to online and video journalism has made more journalists identifiable and therefore afraid for their safety. Minton Beddoes is a notable example: the Economist, famous for the anonymity of its writers, has recently moved into far more video content. The Insider, the platform on which she interviewed Musk, is a weekly interview launched last September; guests have included Benjamin Netanyahu and Tucker Carlson, so she is no stranger to combative subjects.
Why fact-based reporting still matters
Musk's view of truth is why this exchange feels more important than similar confrontations. Asking powerful people questions and continuing to try to find answers even when they react badly is the essence of journalism. In a response to newsletter subscribers, Minton Beddoes promised to double down on the issues raised in the interview. She told subscribers to look forward to new reports examining the impact of shutting down USAID, the number of victims of grooming gangs in Britain, and the amount of violent crime in European cities – all topics she had clashed with Musk over.
The news business has not always behaved as ethically as it should, and trust levels across the developed world are at an all-time low and falling. But data and on-the-ground reporting are the only ways to beat misinformation. Musk claimed it was too dangerous to walk around in Britain, despite having not visited for several years. The Economist responded with data suggesting that homicide rates in general and even knife violence crimes are far lower than in major US cities – in a social video liked 73,000 times.
Ownership of his own platform and infinite riches may give Musk a loudspeaker, but this old-fashioned reporting is the kind of public service the world needs – especially if Musk really is the Cassandra he says he is and artificial intelligence is going to best humans within a decade, making it even harder to keep a firm hold on reality.
