Elon Musk—a man who had mastered the art of public spectacle, leading us to believe that he was one of the last great upholders of free speech—this year pulled the rug on the public. Using his supposedly neutral X platform for blatant political ends, the mask came off the cool-but-off-the-wall 'inventor' to reveal the same old ultra-right capitalist grifter. 

 

For this, Elon Musk has been chosen for this year’s prestigious Knob-Bell Piss Prize 2024: the prize that awards the Art of Deception from the World's Greatest Con Artists.

 

When the veil dropped, what we found was just plain.... embarrassing. In just the past twelve months, Must came close to losing a huge amount of advertising revenue, until cringe-worthy grovelling up to Benjamin Netanyahu, alongside serial propagandist Ben Shapiro, showed his support for the War Against Children in Gaza. Soon the advertisers were once again filling the cash till and Musk's greatest chance of using his privileged position for some useful world-changing moral good had vanished. The fan base reeled in horror. Had he been Epsteined? Was he being blackmailed by Mossad? Did they have the tapes of him too?

 

But it was going to get far worse. Supporting one side of the electoral challenge would have been fair game. After all, we all have a right to vote for whom we wish. And with a cognitively unemployed Joe Biden at the helm, even Trump was starting to look attractive. But once Trump became President Elect, Musk went into overdrive becoming initially, the first lady, before effectively eclipsing the president-to-be, and appearing to take almost total control on a government level through his appointment as DOGE, which basically means that one of the country's main recipients of funding and subsidies, now gets to decide who doesn't get subsidized. Trump must have cringed as Musk virtually installed himself at Mar-a-Lago.

 

 

We admit he had some stiff competition this year. Benjamin Nesanyahu the epitome of evil incarnate will have his own special prize - namely all eternity rotting in hell. Ben Shapiro and Douglas Murray, that pair of pitiful payrolled goons, cosplaying as journalists, were a couple of smug contenders, but they helped spill way too much blood  to merit such mere accolades as 'knobs'.

 

The field was packed with egos and despots, but Musk edged out the competition with his unique blend of hubris, political meddling, and a social media platform veering hard right. 

 

Meddling in Politics: An International Affair

If you thought Musk’s meddling was limited to the U.S., think again. In a year that saw him openly weighing in on global conflicts (sometimes disastrously), Musk also set his sights on Britain and Germany too. Whether it was through ill-informed tweets about the country’s politics or his attempts to muscle in on its tech landscape, his meddling has made it clear: no democracy is safe from his overreach.

 

Let’s start with the obvious: Musk’s acquisition of Twitter (or X) was supposed to herald a new era of free speech. Instead, it’s given us a social media platform where an “anti-woke” algorithm prioritises right-wing talking points while throttling progressive voices. Free speech, it turns out, only flows one way when Musk is at the helm—toward those with money and power. Endorsements came directly tweeted from Musk's own account in support of a whole assortment of modern-day brown shirts. These included agitators, fascists, thugs, trolls and losers whose only charm was ultra-right leaning political stances that resembled Musk's. 

 

There were endorsements for Tommy Robinson, quite literally, an ex-British football hooligan who formed part of the ultra-right English Defence League — a group of white, racist skinheads and troublemakers adding practically zero to any political discussion. Musk cosied up to Giorgia Meloni, who, ostensibly a conservative, was a card-carrying member of the Italy's MSI (Movimento Sociale Italiana), a quite unashamedly fascist party. Soon to follow was his advocacy of Nigel Farage, something like the middle-class equivalent of Tommy Robinson's EDL (for when the football yobos grow up and, errrm, go respectable). Musk's offer to heavily fund Farage's Reform party stinks of the kind of foreign intervention in other countries' elections that the right-wingers so vehemently oppose. Go figure. 

 

It gets worse still. Next up was full support for AfD (Alternative for Germany), an anti-immigration, anti-Muslim party, so extreme that not a single major German party is willing to even consider forming a coalition with them. AfD were labelled 'suspected extremists' by Germany's own judiciary. As always, Musk and his loyal army of a few hundred supporters, plus, tens of thousands of pro-Musk bots then bombard social media with the usual far-right tropes: 'Anything to the right of the leftists they call fascism.'  'If you don't like it, leave.' 'The left is trying to destroy traditional values.' etc. Ever wondered why those claiming to be conservatives use the exact language and moral panics normally attributed to fascists?

 

In a move straight out of the billionaire playbook, Musk’s algorithm now appears to favour content that aligns with his own political biases. Critics of the status quo? Shadow-banned. Voices championing equity and worker rights? Silenced. All while far-right provocateurs flourish like weeds in a garden left untended. Musk isn’t just tinkering with code; he’s attempting to reshape political discourse in his image and it’s a grotesque one.

  

Musk’s penchant for inserting himself into political debates is often cloaked in the language of “help” or “concern,” but make no mistake: his actions serve one primary purpose—to protect and expand the power of billionaires like himself. From opposing labour unions to endorsing anti-democratic ideologies, Musk’s year has been a masterclass in how to undermine working people while pretending to champion innovation.

Weaponizing Social Media

Musk’s transformation of X (formerly Twitter) into a megaphone for the far-right agenda is perhaps his most egregious offence this year. By actively promoting conspiracy theories, reinstating banned accounts of hate figures, and enabling the spread of misinformation by convicted liars like Alex Jones, Musk has turned what was once a flawed but vital platform into a playground for authoritarian propaganda. The result? A less informed, more polarised public—just the way Musk and his billionaire cronies like it. While they are squabbling about identity, they are not discussing Class War, the real issue.

It’s worth noting that Musk’s rhetoric around “free speech” has always been selective. While he’s quick to defend the “right” of far-right voices to spew vitriol, he’s equally swift in silencing critics of his own ventures. Workers at Tesla and SpaceX who’ve spoken out about unsafe conditions or unfair practices know this all too well.

 

Why the Knob-Bell Piss Prize?

What sets Musk apart isn’t just his actions but the audacity with which he carries them out. He doesn’t merely exploit systems for personal gain; he actively reshapes them to suit his worldview.  Whether it’s through tax-evading rockets, union-busting factories, or algorithmic bias on social media, Musk’s year has been a relentless assault on equity, democracy, and truth itself.

The Knob-Bell Piss Prize isn’t just an award; it’s a mirror held up to those who would use their power to trample on the very ideals they claim to uphold. And in 2024, no one has embodied that contradiction more spectacularly than Elon Musk.

 

But these are highly dangerous divisive tactics that Musk uses on his social media platform. They can get people killed.  As we hand over the award, we leave you with a reminder (bottom of the page) of far-right killers and terrorists whose actions were heavily influenced by extreme-right literature, social media, propaganda and extremist ideologies:

 

 

So congratulations, Elon. You’ve earned it. Take a bow, or better yet, take a round-trip to mars. It only takes ten years.... The world could use a break from your brand of progress.

 

 

Previous Knob-Bell Piss Prize Winners:

 

2022. Sam Bankman-Fried

2021. Boris Johnson

2020. Dr. Anthony Fauci

2019. Prince Andrew

 

 

Far-right killers and terrorists whose actions were heavily influenced by extreme-right literature, social media, propaganda and extremist ideologies:

1. Anders Behring Breivik (Norway)

Attack: 2011 Oslo bombing and Utøya island shooting.
Casualties: 77 killed, hundreds injured.
Influences: Breivik’s manifesto, 2083: A European Declaration of Independence, cited anti-Muslim and anti-immigration ideologies. He drew heavily from far-right literature, including writings by figures like Robert Spencer and Bat Ye’or, and propagated the idea of a "cultural Marxist" conspiracy destroying European civilisation.

2. Brenton Tarrant (New Zealand)

Attack: 2019 Christchurch mosque shootings.
Casualties: 51 killed, dozens injured.
Influences: Tarrant’s manifesto, The Great Replacement, was named after Renaud Camus’s far-right conspiracy theory about a supposed genocide of white Europeans through immigration and multiculturalism. He also admired Breivik and cited historical far-right figures.

3. Timothy McVeigh (United States)

Attack: 1995 Oklahoma City bombing.
Casualties: 168 killed, hundreds injured.
Influences: McVeigh was inspired by The Turner Diaries by William Luther Pierce, a dystopian novel advocating violent revolution against a multicultural society. He also opposed government policies, viewing them as tyrannical.

4. Dylann Roof (United States)

Attack: 2015 Charleston church shooting.
Casualties: 9 African-American churchgoers killed.
Influences: Roof was radicalised through far-right websites and propaganda promoting white supremacy. His manifesto referenced the Council of Conservative Citizens (CCC), a white nationalist organisation. He believed in the false "white genocide" conspiracy theory.

5. Robert Bowers (United States)

Attack: 2018 Pittsburgh Tree of Life synagogue shooting.
Casualties: 11 killed, 6 injured.
Influences: Bowers was active on Gab, a platform popular with far-right extremists. He believed in anti-Semitic conspiracy theories, including the idea that Jews were orchestrating the "replacement" of white Americans through immigration.

6. Patrick Crusius (United States)

Attack: 2019 El Paso Walmart shooting.
Casualties: 23 killed, dozens injured.
Influences: Crusius’s manifesto referenced The Great Replacement theory and expressed anti-Latino and anti-immigration views, blaming immigrants for "stealing jobs" and "destroying America."

7. Payton Gendron (United States)

Attack: 2022 Buffalo supermarket shooting.
Casualties: 10 African-Americans killed.
Influences: Gendron cited The Great Replacement and drew inspiration from Tarrant’s Christchurch attack. He livestreamed the shooting and had detailed plans influenced by white nationalist ideologies.

8. David Lane (United States)

Crimes: Co-founder of The Order, a white supremacist terrorist group involved in murders, robberies, and attacks in the 1980s.
Influences: Lane authored the "14 Words," a white supremacist slogan, and was influenced by Nazi propaganda. He promoted white nationalism through literature and manifestos from prison.

9. Stephan Balliet (Germany)

Attack: 2019 Halle synagogue shooting.
Casualties: 2 killed, 2 injured.
Influences: Balliet livestreamed his attack and espoused anti-Semitic and misogynistic views, blaming Jews for societal decline. He was influenced by online far-right communities and video game culture interwoven with extremist propaganda.

10. Alexandre Bissonnette (Canada)

Attack: 2017 Quebec City mosque shooting.
Casualties: 6 killed, 19 injured.
Influences: Bissonnette was influenced by far-right figures like Marine Le Pen and Donald Trump. He harboured anti-Muslim and xenophobic sentiments, which he cultivated through consuming far-right propaganda online.

11. Franz Fuchs (Austria)

Crimes: Series of mail bombings from 1993-1997 targeting immigrants, politicians, and advocates for multiculturalism.
Casualties: 4 killed, 15 injured.
Influences: Fuchs was driven by xenophobia and ultranationalism, though he acted alone and was not directly tied to specific far-right groups.

12. Luca Traini (Italy)

Attack: 2018 Macerata shootings.
Casualties: 6 African migrants injured.
Influences: Traini was motivated by racist ideology and anger over crimes committed by immigrants. He draped himself in the Italian flag during his arrest, signalling nationalist and far-right leanings.

13. Thomas Mair (United Kingdom)

Attack: 2016 murder of MP Jo Cox.
Casualties: 1 killed.
Influences: Mair was connected to far-right groups like National Action and had a history of consuming neo-Nazi propaganda. He shouted "Britain First" during the attack and cited anti-immigration sentiments as motivation.

14. Philip Manshaus (Norway)

 

Attack: 2019 attempted Baerum mosque shooting and murder of his stepsister.
Casualties: 1 killed, attack on mosque failed.
Influences: Manshaus was inspired by Tarrant’s Christchurch attack and sought to emulate it. He was influenced by white supremacist rhetoric and anti-Muslim propaganda.