Elon Musk’s recent interview with Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump faced technical issues that Musk attributed to a cyberattack. The interview, intended to engage “open-minded independent voters,” was delayed by over 40 minutes due to access difficulties experienced by many users.
Musk’s Response to Technical Glitches
Musk, the owner of X (formerly known as Twitter), stated that a distributed denial of services (DDoS) attack had “saturated all of our data lines.” Near the end of the two-hour conversation, Musk reiterated his support for Trump, urging moderate voters to back the Republican campaign. He expressed optimism about the future, saying, “Here’s to an exciting, inspiring future that people can look forward to and be optimistic and excited about what happens next.”
The Onset of Technical Issues
The conversation encountered problems shortly after its scheduled start time. Musk attributed the delays to “a massive DDoS attack on X.” DDoS attacks aim to overload a website, rendering it difficult to use or inaccessible. Musk suggested that the alleged cyberattack indicated opposition in the U.S. to Trump’s message, though the exact cause of the technical issues remains unclear.
Expert Opinions on the Incident
Anthony Lim, Director of the Centre for Strategic Cyberspace and International Studies in Singapore, explained that a DDoS attack sends numerous signals to an online target to disrupt it. He noted that such attacks are unlikely to affect only one service on a website. Lim speculated that many listeners might have temporarily crashed the service.
Andrew Hay from IT firm Damovo suggested that a cyberattack could have targeted the broadcast portion of X’s service, without significantly impacting the site’s core functionality. He described large-scale DDoS attacks as relatively easy to conduct, requiring either numerous compromised systems or a technological flaw to exhaust resources.
Testing and Audience
Musk mentioned that the system had been tested with “8 million concurrent listeners” before the live chat. During the conversation, X Spaces reported approximately one million listeners.
Historical Context and Political Implications
The technical difficulties were reminiscent of Florida Governor Ron DeSantis’ entry into the White House race in May 2023, which also faced livestream issues on X. The conversation with Trump comes as the former president attempts to rejuvenate his re-election campaign. Opinion polls indicate that the Democratic nomination of Vice-President Kamala Harris has intensified the close race for the White House. Harris’s campaign has gained momentum since President Joe Biden withdrew from the race.
Harris Campaign and Democratic Momentum
Next week, Harris and her running mate, Minnesota Governor Tim Walz, could receive a boost from the Democratic National Convention in Chicago. The Trump campaign has criticized Harris for not engaging in interviews and taking few questions from reporters since accepting the nomination. During Monday’s interview, Trump expressed appreciation for having a platform like X to speak at length.
Musk’s Political Influence
Musk has become an influential figure in politics, with over 190 million followers on X, where he frequently engages in political controversies. He has recently supported a new political committee backing Trump’s campaign. Despite his conversation with Trump, Musk invited Vice-President Kamala Harris for a similar event on X Spaces, posting, “Happy to host Kamala on an X Spaces too.”
For more insights into Musk’s political engagements and the impact of social media on presidential campaigns, visit BBC News & Blogy365.com
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