[62739] Elon Musk calls for the release of thousands arrested in the UK for social media posts

Elon Musk in an attack against the arrest policy in the UK

The billionaire and owner of the X network, Elon Musk, sparked a storm online after calling for the release of "thousands of British people imprisoned solely for social media posts or for expressing their opinion." In a tweet he published, Musk attacked British policy and called to stop turning the country into a "prison island."

Musk, who is identified with libertarian positions that promote radical, unfiltered freedom of speech, added sharp criticism toward the British public, claiming that the citizens "gave up their rights to privacy, free speech, and the right to possess tools to fight this oppression." He compared the public situation in the UK to the fable of the "slow-boiling frog" that gets used to the boiling water, and noted that they are guilty for allowing this reality to develop.

The report on Musk's words spread rapidly on social media. The Twitter account platinium230, which reports on ongoing news, echoed the call in a post that gained exposure, while highlighting Musk's direct appeal to the government in the UK.

As of May 16, 2026, Musk's words reached broad exposure of over 13 million views, which testifies to the heated debate surrounding the boundaries of freedom of speech in the digital age and the use of state laws to silence online expressions.