US Elections 2024: Is Elon Musk using AI and social media to undermine Kamala Harris' candidacy?

Elon Musk is undoubtedly one of the world's biggest political influencers. This role has become even more apparent during the ongoing US elections, and due to his recent actions. According to CNN, Musk has been increasingly using artificial intelligence (AI) to target political figures. While his opposition to the Democratic Party is well-known, Musk has recently escalated his attacks, focusing on Vice President Kamala Harris with a series of controversial posts.

On Monday, Musk took to his social media platform to share an AI-generated image depicting Harris in a red uniform, complete with a hammer and sickle—a clear attempt to associate her with communism. The caption falsely claimed, “Kamala vows to be a communist dictator on day one. Can you believe she wears that outfit!?” This post mirrors similar AI-generated content shared by former President Donald Trump during the Democratic National Convention, which also depicted Harris under communist symbols.

Musk, who has publicly endorsed Trump and invested millions into a super PAC supporting the Republican campaign, appears to be leveraging his platform to influence the upcoming presidential election. His use of AI to create and disseminate misleading content represents a troubling intersection of technology and political propaganda.

The following day, Musk shared another controversial post, this time suggesting that only “high status males” should participate in government, dismissing women and men with “low testosterone” as incapable of critical thought. This sexist narrative, reportedly originating from the notorious online forum 4Chan, was shared with Musk’s 196 million followers, further highlighting his willingness to amplify fringe content.

According to CNN, Musk’s influence as the owner of X (formerly Twitter) and his position as the most-followed account on the platform give him unparalleled reach. His posts, which often blur the lines between satire and serious commentary, are not just fringe ideas—they are being broadcast to millions, potentially shaping public opinion on a massive scale.

By Tuesday afternoon, Musk’s post targeting Harris had been viewed nearly 60 million times, while his post about excluding women from government had garnered over 19 million views. Despite the platform’s community notes feature, which Musk has promoted as a tool for crowd-sourced fact-checking, neither post was flagged for misinformation.

According to CNN, experts have increasingly voiced their concerns as to what they perceive to be Musk's lack of accountability and point out that his recent action raises questions about his commitment to maintaining X as a neutral platform.

When he acquired the platform in 2022 for $44 billion, Musk promised it would remain impartial, claiming, “For Twitter to deserve public trust, it must be politically neutral, which effectively means upsetting the far right and the far left equally.” However, his recent actions suggest a different agenda.

Musk’s critics argue that X has become a tool for promoting pro-Trump rhetoric, undermining the platform’s integrity as a space for balanced discourse. As one of the world’s most influential figures, Musk’s shift from tech mogul to political power player is reshaping the landscape of social media and its role in modern democracy.