Armando Iannucci warns of affect of ‘data oligarchs’ like Elon Musk on US election
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Armando Iannucci has warned of the influence of the Elon Musks and Mark Zuckerbergs of the world.
The writer, whose new satirical series The Franchise is out now on Sky Atlantic, said in an interview this week that he is “obsessed with the data oligarchs – the Musks and the Zuckerbergs”.
He told the i: “We’re seeing in this [US] election the enormous influence they have, not just in financially contributing but their control of the news agenda.
“And also the fact that they feel they’re separate from the law. They’re so great that taxes and regulations shouldn’t really apply in their case.”
The man who skewered British politics in his award-winning show The Thick of It added: “That’s something that’s both frightening and weirdly comic in a strange way: ‘We’re not saying there should be no law! It just shouldn’t apply to me, that’s all!’”
Tech billionaire and Tesla CEO Musk has donated more than $75m to Donald Trump’s campaign ahead of the US election on 5 November. He has also made several guest appearances at Trump rallies, going viral last month month for jumping up and down on stage at a Pennysylvania event.
And Musk has, through his political group America PAC, been offering cash prizes of $1m to registered voters in swing states who sign a petition – something US officials suggest may break electoral law. Musk denies this.
Philadelphia District Attorney Lawrence Krasner sued Musk this week and said he “must be stopped, immediately, before the upcoming presidential election”.
Also last month, Trump said he likes Facebook founder Zuckerberg “much better now” that he is “staying out of the election.”
The Republican candidate, who has previously referred to Facebook as “a true enemy of the people,” appears to be warming up to the billionaire since he has pulled back from politics.
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“I actually believe he’s staying out of the election, which is nice,” Trump told Barstool Sports’s podcast Bussin’ With The Boys.
“He called me up after I was shot and he said, ‘That was so brave,’ which was nice.”
This week, many US celebrities have been sharing their endorsements for Kamala Harris or Trump. Harrison Ford is the latest to back Harris for president, urging American voters to “don’t do this again” when referring to Trump.
Iannucci’s show The Franchise pokes fun at the superhero genre, and stars Himesh Patel, Aya Cash and Jessica Hynes as a team of people making a new movie in a fictional mega-franchise.
