France’s foreign minister, Jean-Noel Barrot, has accused Elon Musk of orchestrating massive online harassment campaigns against European leaders to influence political debates, The Guardian reports. Speaking at an Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development conference on Tuesday, Barrot highlighted the growing role of social media in what he described as a global struggle to protect democratic institutions.
Barrot argued that forces seeking to undermine democracy currently dominate the information sphere by using specific tactics meant to polarize public debate. He noted that political movements with authoritarian aims are gaining ground across Europe and North America, and he warned that these groups play right into the hands of democracy’s declared enemies. Their ultimate goal is clear, as he stated, “to seize power and then create the conditions to never relinquish it.”
