German car attack suspect’s X account pushed praise of Musk
In the wake of the car attack on Friday evening at a Christmas market in Magdeburg, Germany that killed five people and left more than 200 people injured, police in Germany detained Taleb Al-Abdulmohsen.
On X, Al-Abdulmohsen posted Islamophobic content, with his account bio warning that “Germany wants to islamize Europe."
Some believe that in the aftermath of the attack, Elon Musk censored the suspect’s posts.
In the lead-up to the attack, al-Abdulmohsen made repeated threats against Germany, claiming that the government was conspiring against him and other Saudi asylum seekers.
He warned against growing anti-Christian sentiment in America and pushed global conspiracy theories of a pro-Islam agenda.
In December, al-Abdulmohsen wrote, “Socrates was executed by the Greeks, and no one paid the price since. If justice is to be sought, it should be directed towards addressing contemporary concerns, such as efforts to islamize Europe. This involves examining the actions of the European nations currently engaging in such activities, particularly through police confidants targeting critics of Islam. RIP Socrates; may justice prevail.”
Al-Abdulmohsen also supported the far-right German political party, AfD (Alternative for Germany).
In one post, Al-Abdulmohsen wrote, “Die Linken sind Verrückt. Wir brauchen AFD um die Polizei sich zu schützen."
It translates to, “The left are crazy. We need AfD to protect the police from them.”
As eyes turned to Al-Abdulmohsen’s social media presence, many noticed Al-Abdulmohsen’s frequent appreciation for Musk.
In a post in August, the suspect warned that Musk and far-right figure Tommy Robinson were being unfairly censored by the media.
On Dec. 23, following the attack, Al-Abdulmohsen’s account was suspended. Itts suspension has since been lifted.
However, when it reappeared online, users claimed many of the pro-AfD posts that Al-Abdulmohsen wrote had mysteriously disappeared.
And users accused Musk, who had endorsed the AfD as the only party “capable of saving Germany,” of meddling.
In the aftermath of the attack, Musk has criticized the attack’s coverage in the German media and dismissed the suspect’s support for AfD. Now some are claiming it's Musk’s attempt to protect the party.
Wrote one, “X, after reinstating the terrorists' profile, has deleted all posts before November 2024. They also deactivated search function on his profile, so you can only see his last 2 months posts. Why ? Probably because it helps the ‘far-right/pro-israel’ narrative that he is ‘not an ex-Muslim atheist, nor is he a fan of the AfD or Elon Musk’. There were 2016 posts proving the opposite, before Elon Musk deleted them.”
Posts can sometimes be slow to reappear in the wake of suspensions. As of now, Al-Abdulmohsen’s account shows over 100,000 posts. But users searching for particular ones about AfD have struggled to find them.
With many of the posts written in Arabic, some have also pointed out faults in the translation tools accompanying any of the suspect’s posts.
One user wrote, “The ‘translate post’ is no longer there on his posts, and as many of them are in Arabic there’s less evidence. But there’s still plenty of evidence that he parroted the same far right talking points as AfD and Musk.”
Some, however, are less convinced by the idea of a coordinated cover-up.
Responding to speculation, users warned that X, which has strict regulations in Germany, may have been restricted some posts.
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