Elon Musk joins outcry that gov worked to stifle lockdown criticism

Elon Musk joins the outcry over allegations that a British government unit worked with social media firms to stifle criticism of Covid lockdowns

  • A report claims CDU was used during the pandemic to curb critics of lockdown

Elon Musk has joined the outcry over allegations that a British government unit worked with social media firms to stifle criticism of Covid lockdown policies.

A report claims that the Counter-Disinformation Unit (CDU), which leads the Government’s response to ‘disinformation threats’ online, was used during the pandemic to curb critics of lockdown.

Documents revealed under Freedom of Information and data protection requests showed that the activities of prominent critics of Covid policies were secretly monitored, according to the report in the Daily Telegraph.

Elon Musk (pictured) has joined the outcry over allegations that a British government unit worked with social media firms to stifle criticism of Covid lockdown policies

In April 2020, Mr Musk joined an anti-lockdown protest by tweeting: ‘Free America now.’ He later clarified this by saying shops and businesses should ‘reopen with care and appropriate protection’ 

Twitter and Tesla owner Mr Musk, 51, described this alleged use as ‘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 by tweeting: ‘Free America now.’ He later clarified this by saying shops and businesses should ‘reopen with care and appropriate protection.’

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