Elon Musk’s X ‘becoming very dangerous place’, says Nigel Farage

Social media platform X is becoming a very “unpleasant” and “dangerous” place, Nigel Farage has said in a swipe at former friend Elon Musk.

The Reform UK leader said his party’s ethnic minority candidates had received “utterly appalling” online abuse as they prepared for May’s elections in Scotland, Wales and English councils.

Mr Musk, the world’s richest man, acquired Twitter in 2022 before renaming it and reinstating many accounts that had been banned.

The tech billionaire had a warm relationship with Mr Farage, and there were even rumours he could channel a donation to his party before Mr Musk called for him to be replaced during a dispute over his support for right-wing activist Tommy Robinson.

Mr Musk has publicly endorsed Rupert Lowe’s new political party, Restore Britain.

Speaking at a press conference on Monday, Mr Farage said: “The online abuse on X that our minority candidates are receiving is utterly appalling in every way.

“If it was happening to any other candidates from more established parties in the sense of their age, you would all be in total uproar,” he told reporters.

“It really, really is bad,” he said.

“X is now becoming a very unpleasant, very dangerous place.”

Mr Farage said the number of ethnic minority candidates his party was standing in the elections was “quite remarkable”.