"Dear Elon, I admire what you've done for liberty. Can the next step in the fight be putting together your AI power behind a 200-year-old trusted news voice called the London Evening Standard? Lebedev wrote. My thoughts are in an age of deepfakes and general confusion about information this would be a powerful pairing. If you're up for a chat I am up for coming to see you."
"The email to the owner of X is contained in a leak from Johnson's office seen by the Guardian. The leak was obtained by Distributed Denial of Secrets, a US non-profit that archives data leaks. The email is likely to renew questions over foreign influence in UK politics. Musk has made no secret of his desire to sway political views through his social media platform, which he has owned since 2022."
"While Lebedev does not expressly raise the question of investment in the Evening Standard, the request for some kind of partnership will also raise questions over foreign ownership of the UK press. Parliament recently passed legislation placing limits on foreign ownership of media organisations meaning foreign states can only own stakes of up to 15% but the rules do not apply to foreign individuals."
Johnson's private office emailed an executive close to Elon Musk in June 2024, forwarding a business proposal from Evgeny Lebedev asking Musk to apply AI power to support the London Evening Standard. The leaked email, obtained via Distributed Denial of Secrets, included Lebedev offering to meet and arguing AI pairing would counter deepfakes and information confusion. The contact raises questions about foreign influence and press ownership because Musk publicly influences political views and has backed Donald Trump. Parliament recently limited foreign state stakes in UK media to 15%, though the rules do not cover foreign individuals. It is unclear if Musk responded.
Read at www.theguardian.com
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