Musk to sue German broadcaster ZDF over 'hunt for migrants'

https://p.dw.com/p/5FTsJ

Elon Musk, the world's first trillionaire, has announced legal action against German public broadcaster ZDF for a report that he said misrepresented his position.

The broadcaster had highlighted Musk's role in encouraging anti-migrant protests in Northern Ireland that turned violent.

"Legal action is being taken against ZDF for their outrageous lies," Musk said in a post on his social network X on Monday.

What did Elon Musk say about the Belfast riots?

Northern Ireland saw nights of riots last week after a high-profile stabbing incident. The suspect, a migrant from Sudan, was charged with attempted murder.

Hundreds of people rioted in the streets of Belfast going door-to-door, shouting "Foreigners get out" and setting cars, homes and businesses on fire.

The protests were encouraged by British far-right extremist Stephen Yaxley-Lennon — better known by the pseudonym Tommy Robinson — as well as Restore UK founder Rupert Lowe.

Violent protests erupt over Belfast stabbing

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Musk shared posts from these two figures to his 240 million followers on X.

"Only by protesting REPEATEDLY and LOUDLY will there be any change!!" Musk added in one of his posts on June 9.

Three days later, ZDF broadcast a half-hour segment covering the riots on its online news program ZDFheute live.

"A racist mob went on a hunt for migrants," the anchor said in introducing the segment. "This was called for by a British right-wing extremist and tech millionaire Elon Musk."

This 28-second clip was then shared on X by right-wing journalist Julian Reichelt, a former editor-in-chief of German tabloid-style newspaper Bild until he was fired in 2021 after reports of misconduct toward female employees.

ZDF purportedly acknowledges 'imprecise' phrasing

Reichelt subsequently shared a screenshot that he presented as a response from the broadcaster, which he called for to be "dismantled."

In the post, ZDF appeared to defend its report but conceded that the host's choice of words was "imprecise" and "misleading."

"In its June 12, 2026, episode, ZDFheute live examined the role played by Elon Musk and right-wing influencers like Tommy Robinson in the run-up to the violent protests in Belfast. Tommy Robinson had called for protests. Elon Musk had shared the call to protest," the statement read.

"The host intended to succinctly summarize the complex situation surrounding the violent protests and the prior calls for protests on X at the beginning of the very comprehensive and nuanced 30-minute program. However, the wording chosen was imprecise and therefore misleading."

ZDF, which stands for Zweites Deutsches Fernsehen (Second German Television) is one of two nationwide public networks in Germany. It is in large part funded by the television license fees.

Edited by: Rana Taha