The letter, written by emeritus professor Stephen Curry of Imperial College London, references previous complaints made about Musk’s behaviour in August. The earlier complaints largely center around Musk’s promotion of conspiracy theories, particularly in response to the UK riots. One criticism was directed towards Musk sharing of a fake report on X, claiming that Keir Starmer was considering “emergency detainment camps” for far-right rioters. Elon Musk later deleted the post after 30 minutes.
The open letter references previous alarms raised but also refers to Musk’s recent post on X about Jess Phillips MP which “falsely [accused] her of being a “rape genocide apologist””. The tweet came in response to the choice to hold a local inquiry rather than a public inquiry into child sexual exploitation in Oldham. Phillips agreed that Musk’s actions had threatened her safety and that protections were in place.
The letter also details how Elon Musk holds a position as a senior advisor to a Trump administration that has “engaged in an assault on scientific research”, with him failing to speak out against the “huge cuts in funding and a regime of censorship” taking place.
The Royal Society has stated that “any issues raised in respect of individual fellows are dealt with in confidence”, but Curry argues that a lack of public statement shows a “failure of moral courage”. The letter questions the message the Society’s silence sends to “friends and colleagues in the USA, especially women, people from ethnic minorities, and disabled and LGBT researchers”.
The Guardian expects that The Royal Society will hold a meeting in early March regarding “the principles around public pronouncements and behaviour of fellows”.