Don't let social media owners decide election outcome, Scholz tells voters

The German chancellor, Olaf Scholz, has urged voters not to let the "owners of social media channels" decide next year's snap election, after Elon Musk repeatedly endorsed the far-right Alternative für Deutschland (AfD) party.

- Deborah Cole

In a pre-recorded televised New Year's Eve address, Scholz said German citizens alone had the power to decide "where Germany goes" after the general election on 23 February.

"It will not be decided by the owners of social media channels," Scholz said of the country's future.

Rather, Scholz said, the fate of German society "will be up to the vast majority of reasonable and decent people". He did not directly mention Musk or his platform, X, but urged Germans to resist manipulation and stand up for their democracy.

"After all, it's customary to make wishes on New Year's Eve. What I wish for is that we will not let ourselves be played off each other," he said.

Scholz said there had been a surge of disinformation on social media after the Christmas market attack in Magdeburg on 20 December in which five people were killed and more than 200 injured. The car ramming was allegedly committed by a Saudi-born assailant with far-right sympathies.