BERLIN
\nGermany\u2019s government rebuked X owner Elon Musk after he criticized the recent work of migrant rescue ships that German humanitarian groups operate in the Mediterranean Sea.
\nMusk late Friday shared a video that showed migrants and aid workers on a boat. The right-wing account that first put the content on X, formerly known as Twitter, praised the populist far-right Alternative for Germany party, which has taken a hard line on migration issues.
\n\u201cIs the German public aware of this?\u201d Musk wrote in his repost.
\nThe German Federal Foreign Office replied to Musk directly on X, writing: \u201cYes. And it\u2019s called saving lives.\u201d
\nMusk responded that he doubted the German public supports the actions of non-governmental organizations that take asylum-seekers from unseaworthy vessels in the Mediterranean. He also asserted it was \u201csurely\u201d a violation of Italy\u2019s sovereignty for German-operated ships to bring rescued migrants to Italian territory.
\n\u201cSo you\u2019re actually proud of it. Interesting,\u201d he wrote to the Foreign Office, adding that he thinks such maritime operations have \u201cinvasion vibes.\u201d
\nThe exchange comes as migration has returned to the political forefront in Germany and other European countries, with government officials and opposition politicians sparring about how best to handle an increasing number of arriving migrants. Cities and communities across Germany have sounded an alarm, saying they are running out of room to accommodate them and to provide kindergarten and school places.
\nMore than 220,000 people applied for asylum in Germany from January to August this year. In all of 2022, about 240,000 people applied for asylum. In 2015-16, more than 1 million people applied for asylum in Germany.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
BERLIN Germany\u2019s government rebuked X owner Elon Musk after he criticized the recent work of migrant rescue ships that German humanitarian groups operate in the Mediterranean Sea. Musk late Friday shared a video that showed migrants and aid workers on a boat. The right-wing account that first put the content on X, formerly known as […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":359222,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[6],"tags":[],"class_list":{"0":"post-359205","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-world"},"yoast_head":"\n