Elon Musk's Great Replacement

Elon Musk’s purchase of Twitter – and subsequent rebranding to X – has become a watershed moment marking the transitioning of his public image from a pro-science figure wielding technology and his vast wealth for the good of humankind, into an anti-science figure championing dangerous ideologies and conspiracies. Upon acquiring Twitter, Musk immediately set about reinstating accounts previously deplatformed for spreading dangerous misinformation and hateful ideologies. Though Musk used the discourse of free speech as a form of ideological legitimation to support these actions, it has since been revealed that these accounts total over 60 million dollars in annual advertising revenue for X (a fact which Musk is sued the Centre for Countering Digital Hate for revealing in their investigation – so much for free speech, right?). These accounts ranged from the notorious manosphere influencer Andrew Tate (who has buddied up to Musk since), to the antivaxx influencer Joseph Mercola – and even the radical racist academic, Renaud Camus, the architect of The Great Replacement Theory.  

This moment signaled the waves of change to come, as Musk turned Twitter into X, and began emerging as a thought-leader amongst the far right. This new position saw him use the platform to voice narratives popular amongst the far-right – from the genocide of white farmers in South Africa, to the ‘grooming gangs’ of the UK narrative, as well as the declining birth rates amongst white populations. However, as this article explores, all of these narratives are linked to tenets of Camus’ aforementioned thesis: The Great Replacement (2011)(or Le Grand Remplacement in the original French); an extremist white supremacist conspiracy theory that has motivated dozens of mass shooters from Anders Behring Brevik – the Oslo Killer – who conducted his rampage soon after Camus’ work was released, to Brenton Tarrant – the Christchurch Killer – who even titled his manifesto, “The Great Replacement”. Brevik’s manifesto, as well as Camus’ own writings, seem to draw from earlier conspiracies like the white genocide theory, as well as the ‘Eurabia’ conspiracy of Bat Ye’or which claims that European powers are colluding with Arab powers to form a combined European and Arab nation – which Ye’or calls, “Eurabia”. 

What is the Great Replacement Theory? 

The Theory was first written about by French academic Renaud Camus (pictured left), and describes a situation where the white populations of French and European countries are being ‘replaced’ by incoming immigrants from non-white countries, particularly Muslim majority countries. Camus was an academic whose work ranged from literature and philosophy to political science and law. He was even a colleague and collaborator of Roland Barthes (a theorist who I am an incredible fan of). Camus’ Great Replacement theory takes existing racist beliefs and conspiracy theories (like ‘the white genocide’ and ‘Eurabia’ conspiracy theories) and further nuances it through his academic background, while extending it to becoming an arguably more radical and extremist version of the preceding conspiracies. Camus’ also differentiates from the other versions in that his does not target Jewish populations – as the previous theories do – and does not target LGBTQ+ populations either – as Camus himself is a homosexual.   

 Camus asserts that these immigrants are not only ‘occupying’ European nations; but they are also replacing the white populations of these nations by rapidly reproducing and multiplying through the higher birthrates amongst these immigrant populations. This will result in the local white populations being gradually minoritized and ‘replaced’. Camus even uses quotes from anti-colonial figures like Frantz Fanon; and uses the language and imagery of colonization, occupation, and resistance to describe the situation of white populations in the face of non-white immigration. This rhetoric has also been repeated by the likes of Richard Spencer – the founder of the alt.right political movement – who highlights the mistreatment and exploitation of minority groups as a threat to white populations becoming minoritized. Camus’ proposals for a solution range from re-migration; to not-so-subtle hints at violence by claiming that there are no longer ‘political’ options and solutions available to the white population – who must resist this occupation and liberate themselves from it.  

Additionally, Camus asserts that particular figures within European politics – which he calls ‘replacement elites’ – are facilitating the incoming passage of Muslim immigrants. From the media to the government, these elites are culpable in the replacement of the white population and must be resisted. This is a common feature of many of these conspiracy theories; from the white genocide theory which blames Jewish elites, to the Eurabia conspiracy theory which blames European trade deals for oil with Arab nations, even QAnon, which blames satanic elite pedophiles within the Democratic Party as the cause for the woes of the Western world.  

‘Political correctness’ and ‘cultural Marxism’ are also regarded as central causes for these crises; and have become popular dog-whistles on the far-right ever since. Beginning with Brevik featuring lengthy explications of cultural Marxism and a breakdown of the Frankfurt School Neo-Marxist thinkers like Theodore Adorno and Herbert Marcuse, to their current featuring in the talks of thought-leaders like Jordan Peterson who have contributed to the brining these fringe ideas into much more mainstream discourse. 

Furthermore, the panic around declining birthrates and population growth is furthered by factors like interracial relationships which further contribute to the decline of white births. Immigrant men are seen as invaders claiming vulnerable white females to mate with and produce mixed offspring; which are considered non-white. This also highlights the construction of ‘whiteness’ in society; as something that runs out, compared to non-whiteness which is something that spreads. For example, Barack Obama is considered the first black President; even though he is of mixed descent. Meaning that though he is half-white, he would not be considered white; but being half-black is enough to consider him black. 

Replacement Rhetoric 

While The Great Replacement Theory has become a rallying cry for white supremacists around the world; it has worryingly ‘dissolved’ and distributed itself into what I like to call, ‘Replacement Rhetoric’, wherein elements of the theory become co-opted into narratives and messages that on the surface, seem like legitimate concerns disconnected from radical violence (like Jordan Peterson discussing the threat of cultural Marxism as a threat to Western society), or light-hearted memes aimed at critiquing society through humour and satire (like Pepe the Frog becoming a symbol of the far-right). 

Elon Musk has been repeatedly espousing such discourses which are heavily laden with replacement rhetoric. Particularly, (1) The narrative of the white genocide occurring in South Africa; (2) the 'Grooming Gangs’ narrative in the UK; and (3) his support for the ‘Kekius Maximus’ meme coin. Each of these discourses have both a factual and an ideological basis; for example, the murders of farmers in South Africa has a factual basis (that is, white farmers have been murdered in South Africa); but the use of these murders as evidence of a targeted genocide against the white population in South Africa is an ideologically motivated narrative which uses these murders as evidence of racial warfare intended to demonstrate the fate of white populations in countries where they become minoritized. This serves to reinforce the ideology of replacement, and offers South Africa as a portent for white America and white Europe. 

As it inches closer to the mainstream, the narrative about “white genocide” in South Africa grows more sophisticated. Through their partnership with mature Afrikaner organizations, America’s white nationalist groups gain a host of misleading factoids and talking points that can be dangerously persuasive in the “fake news” era.  

(Ware, 2018).  

South Africa’s Farm Murders: 

To be clear, the farm murders are a very a real tragedy. They highlight the failures of the government to effectively administer security and protect its citizens. They highlight the vulnerability of South Africans to the country’s state of violent crime. Additionally, those in remote rural areas are more vulnerable – many of whom are white farmers. These murders were brought to international attention through the YouTube documentary Farmlands by Canadian-born right-wing content creator, Lauren Southern (pictured below). However, Southern problematically conflates the murders with the notion of a targeted genocide of white individuals; an idea that is popular amongst the far-right. 

According to Caolon Robertson – one of Southern’s colleagues and a fellow producer of the documentary who traveled to South Africa with her – the idea was to use the farm murders as evidence of a larger genocide against the global white population (Robertson, 2020). Robertson claims that they had initially encountered tales of the farm murders from amongst extremely fringe far-right circles, “Richard Spencer-types" to use his own words (Spencer was the founder of the alt. Right movement). Robertson also cites the Suidlanders as another source of the white genocide rhetoric (Robertson, 2020). The Suidlanders are a South African right-wing ethnoationalist group led by Simon Roche. Groups like the Suidlanders and the KK (KommandoKorps) believe that South Africa is heading towards a race war for which they must be prepared (Mckenzie & Swails, 2018).  

Southern and Robertson’s ambitions were to co-opt these tragic murders into something that would gain a lot of attention from the far-right; particularly, the white genocide conspiracy theory. In a podcast with South Africa’s Centre for Analytics and Behavioural Change, Caolan Robertson said that in the years since Farmlands, he has come to understand the damage caused by the misinformation spread in the film. Specifically, that he sees the film as being responsible for introducing South Africa to the ‘vocabulary’ of American white nationalism (Robertson, 2020). He admits that while working on the film, he was distinctly aware that no such genocide was occurring in South Africa (CABC, 2020). He explains that a key motivator behind Farmlands was to demonstrate to white nations in America and Europe that this is what would happen to their communities if they were not homogenous ethnonationalist states (Robertson, 2020). He goes on further to add that the scenes depicting squatter camps full of white people really helped to cement this demonstration of white people as a forgotten minority abandoned by the state, ignored by the mainstream media, and left vulnerable and defenseless.  

“It’s to give the viewer this sense of unease that if you’re the minority this is how you will be treated” (Robertson, 2020). 

The theory was bolstered by local anxiety amongst South Africans – from white communities seeing themselves as a vulnerable target, to non-white communities fearing the collapse of the rainbow nation ideal, and the larger threat of white South African emigration which could hurt the country’s economic and social future. Furthermore, the growing rise of fake news networks in South Africa helped to promote Southern’s documentary along with the perspective of white genocide that it tried to encourage – including the idea that ‘elites’ within the country are turning a bind eye to the issue.  

“Activists say South African authorities are tacitly approving attacks on the country’s white farmers, with one being murdered every five days, and the police turning a blind eye to the violence.” (Ward, 2018)  

This further represents the deliberate conflation of the farm murders with tenets of the white genocide and Great Replacement theories; wherein both those theories claim that groups of elites are facilitating the replacement and genocide of white citizens – in this case, the South African government and the mainstream media are responsible for facilitating the genocide while restricting the exposure and attention these murders receive.  

Research from local South Africans as well as international academics, investigators and journalists have stated that these murders are part of South Africa’s broader murder rate – one of the highest in the world – rather than a deliberate scheme to ethnically target white citizens (Akinola, 2020). Coupled with the remote locations that many of these farm murders take place in, and the widespread administrative issues of corruption and mismanagement in South Africa, it becomes easier to understand the prevalence of such a murder rate and security failures. According to a recent study: “It is concluded that, while white farmers are the major victims of farm murder, a conceptualisation of such as ‘white genocide’ does not adequately characterise the reality” (Akinola, 2020). 

Southern’s documentary however, deliberately frames the situation of these South African farmers within the context of American conservative attitudes and conspiratorial beliefs; and has consequently been absorbed into Western conservative politics. Elon Musk’s posts about South Africa’s farm murders are not isolated incidents; many other figures from right-wing parties in America and Australia have also brought attention to it. From the likes of Tucker Carlson and Donald Trump, to Australian public figures like Fraser Anning and Peter Dutton (the Home Affairs Minister). Anne Coulter, the conservative American writer and public figure, claimed that white famers from South Africa represent the world’s only real refugee crisis (Mckenzie & Swails, 2018). Earlier, in 2012, far-right neo-Nazi groups in the United States launched a series of rallies called ‘The South Africa Project’ – which an investigation by the Anti-Defamation League revealed: The goal of the organizers, which included representatives from major neo-Nazi, racist skinhead, "traditional white supremacist," Christian Identity groups, as well as racist prison gangs, was to stop the alleged ‘genocide of Whites’ in South Africa. (Anti-Defamation League, 2018). 

Grooming Gangs:

Similarly, the concerns with ‘Grooming Gangs’ in the UK – a scandal which Musk is responsible for resurrecting – also has two points of origin: the factual, and the ideological. The factual point begins with the series of horrendous rapes and sexual assaults of underage girls in the UK committed by groups of British Pakistani men over a decade ago. This was potentially worsened by the reluctance of police to go public with the information in the fear that it would incite race related riots; or would encourage radical right-wing figures and groups like Tommy Robinson and the English Defense League. 

The ideological element however, relates to the particular discourses that the Grooming Gangs narrative highlights – discourses which reflect the ‘Replacement Rhetoric’ mentioned earlier. Particularly, the threat to white women and white birthrates in the face of immigrant populations in white nations. In this instance, immigrant men represent a threat to white birth rates through sexual violence targeting white women. This discourse has a long history in far-right media; going back to D.W Griffith’s Birth of a Nation, which featured scenes in which black men (played by white actors in blackface) raped vulnerable white women, in an act that necessitated a military-like response in order to protect their people. The film was so provocative that it resulted in the rebirth of the Klu Klux Klan as well as inspiring a spate of lynchings of black individuals.   

The Birth of a Nation (1915) is heralded as being one of the first true Hollywood blockbusters that originated many of the film-making techniques that we see today. From the art of editing itself, to the use of large sets and battle scenes, the film is considered a piece of cinema history. However, this position does not discount its vile and violent racism; nor the racial mania it stirred up in white audiences. The racial ideologies communicated through the film were so powerful as to resurrect the KKK and reignite racial violence in the West. The film is based on a book by Thomas Dixon, The Clansman, which portrays free black people as savage and violent, out to commit murder and rape. Once again, we see the trope of ‘elites’ maneuvering and manipulating; in this case, white politicians – based on Thaddeus Stevens (the radical Republican and anti-slavery and anti-discrimination figure) – are portrayed as race traitors who are out to punish and destroy the white South. 

Just as the film’s tropes and portrayals generated racial aggression in the audience enough to resurrect the KKK, similarly, the ideological components of the Grooming Gangs narrative has been powerful enough to override the factual and contextual components of the discussion: particularly the fact that most ‘grooming gangs’ are white, and that most rapes committed in the UK are committed by white men. Furthermore, the identity of the victims as white girls is also something that has central importance to the ideology of replacement – yet, the fact that several of the victims were not white is another fact that is understated. According to the National Police Chief’s Council (The NPCC): "The vast majority of grooming gang offences are carried out by white men, the National Police Chiefs’ Council (NPCC) has said." "New figures from the police database show that, where ethnicity data was available, 85% of “group-based” child abusers were white in the first three quarters of 2024."  

"Offences where grooming gangs are involved are predominantly white." "The same data for the whole of 2023 showed 83% of offenders were white." (The Argus, 2025) 

Musk’s resurrection of the Grooming Gangs issue has been a great way for him to further consolidate support for himself from amongst America’s far-right – especially after his stance on H1B visas received backlash from conservatives. However, his resurrection of the narrative, which is a UK issue, is causing turmoil on the part of British citizens and lawmakers, while reigniting unrest between Britain’s far-right and Britain’s populations of immigrant-descent. A few months prior, the ‘Southport riots’ saw misinformation result in eruptions of violence between these same far-right groups and British populations of immigrant descent. Serial provocateur Andrew Tate spewed out a slew of misinformation targeting these immigrant groups, which was picked up by the likes of Nigel Farage, Tommy Robinson, and other far-right figures in the UK. Musk’s tweets not only resurrected these issues, but developed lines of support between America’s far-right and UK’s far-right, as British figures like Tommy Robinson experienced a swell of support from American conservatives.   

Kekius Maximus & the Cult of Kek: 

Lastly, Musk changed his profile picture on X, alongside with his X handle, to ‘Kekius Maximus’, after a memecoin of the same name. This was likely done to use his popularity as a means of boosting the value of the coin.  

Several years ago, Musk boosted the popularity of another earlier memecoin called Dogecoin, which resulted in the value of the coin been driven up as traders sought to buy the coin (Doge was also a popular meme of a dog, which has now also become the name of the department that Musk’s leads as a member of Trump’s cabinet – the Department of Government Efficiency, or DOGE).  

Similarly, Musk’s actions with Kekius Maximus boosted the coin and drove up its value for traders – which subsequently exploded by 900% in growth according to several outlets (Black Star News; The Independent). However, Kekius Maximus represents an ideologically motivated coin that is linked to far-right extremism and cultures of racist violence. Kekius Maximus is named after a ‘deity’ amongst online far-right users of forums like Reddit and image boards like 4chan. Kek is based on the Pepe the Frog meme; an early meme on 4chan which soon became associated with 4chan’s darker elements: right-wing echo chambers and incel (involuntary celibate) ideologies (Know Your Meme, 2015). 

Pepe the Frog (left); Hitler-Pepe (right)

The frog was co-opted into darker memes, calling for violence and genocide. From Hitler Pepe memes to Pepe as a crusading knight killing Muslims, or Pepe as a member of the Klu Klux Klan (Know Your Meme, 2015). Donald Trump tweeted an image of himself as Pepe the Frog, which soon led to Pepe becoming associated with the MAGA movement as a whole; making routine appearances at Trump rallies and events. Matt Fourie, the creator of Pepe, even sued INFOwars host Alex Jones for selling posters featuring Pepe in them. 

The evolution of Pepe within the right continues with the development of ‘Kek’. Initially beginning as an in-joke from World of Warcraft forums (where ‘lol’ was translated to ‘Kek’), it was merged with Pepe the Frog when it was learnt that Kek was also the name of an Egyptian frog god (Anti-Defamation League, n.d; Know Your Meme, 2015).  

This growing cult of Kek soon began using the term ‘Kekistan’, identifying themselves as a nation of their own. The ‘-istan’ suffix is likely a parody of Pakistan, Uzbekistan and other Muslim majority nations with the similar naming conventions. These ‘Kekistanis’ even developed their own flag which looks like a green redesign of the Nazi swastika.  

Kekius Maximus is a meme of Kek that seems to merge it with the lead character of Ridley Scott’s Gladiator film, Maximus. It also seems to suggest a warrior or soldier in the name of Kek. This type of homage – using military characterizations – has been routine amongst these groups. From memes of Pepe/Kek as a soldier, to images of him as particular mass shooters.  

The meme of Kekius Maximus was made into a memecoin; likely by fans of Kek. Elon Musk changing his name on X to Kekius Maximus, and changing his profile picture to the image of the meme, is a massive means of boosting the value of the coin, while also signaling to these groups that he stands with their values and seeks to identify himself as a leading member – something he has done repeatedly.  

His boosting of the memecoin had an incredible impact on its value which grew dramatically. This growth likely resulted in many making money of the memecoin. Memes, memecoins, cryptocurrencies, and even trading in gold, have been popular amongst the communities of fringe internet forums and boards like 4chan – which is where memes themselves originate from. The Christchurch Killer himself explains in his manifesto that he invested in cyptocurrencies to earn the money needed to fund his killing spree – particularly, BitConnect, a now-defunct crypto platform that has been outed as essentially a ponzi scheme (Tarrant, 2018).

This type of arrangement is common amongst memecoins; where popularity is used to drive up sales of a coin in order to grow its value, before those holding the most coins suddenly sell their stock and pocket the profit – commonly called a ‘pump and dump’. Usually, those benefitting from those types of pump and dumps are the originator of the coin – who holds the most quantity – and the coin-trading insiders who come across the coin early when it can still be bought relatively cheaply. Many of these insiders are those who regularly engage with these forums and image boards in order to buy early. Consequently, it is likely that those who earned from it are members of fringe internet groups; groups that often house far-right radicals who are no strangers to cultures of violence and hate. 

Flag of Kekistan appearing at the January 6th Insurrection 2020 

Many of these mass shooters have been socialized and radicalized through these online groups and echo chambers; from Elliot Rogers, the Incel Killer, to Alek Minassian, the Toronto Van Killer, to the previously mentioned Behring and Tarrant, to more recent killers like the Buffalo Shooter, the El Paso Shooter, and the Poway Synagogue Shooter. Their time spent in these forums is evidenced in their manifestos – either through them directly explaining, or through their use of insider lingo and terminology – and even in previous posts of theirs on these forums that remain online.   

Additionally, ALL of them claim to have been acting in accordance with The Great Replacement Theory and the white genocide. Elon Musk showing support and solidarity with these groups is incredibly alarming. Musk himself is a South African white man; and the ‘perils’ of South Africa has been at the forefront of Neo-Nazi concerns (as discussed earlier).  

Painting of Brenton Tarrant, depicted as a Saint, carrying his manifesto and the infamous painted gun he wielded.

Musk has taken it several steps further by providing opportunities to enrich these groups financially. “The tokens made an explosive climb after Musk’s move. The tokens were traded on every major platform including BingX, MEXE, and Uniswap. In only 24 hours 10 transactions were made of more than $425,000. The market is in great trading interest with 7,322 buyers after 3,931 sales in the last six hours” (Black Star News, 2025). Many of these shooters, particularly the likes of Behring and Tarrant who conducted sophisticated terror operations, needed time to acquire funding for their killings. Now, Musk has helped to deliver that funding by boosting the value of the coin; allowing insiders and early traders to buy and sell and make a profit.    

It must be understood that these shooters arise out of a culture and a community with shared beliefs and ideologies. These shooters are deified and celebrated, with Tarrant and Behring’s sprees being considered ‘high scores’ that future shooters need to beat. They are even called Saints, and their likeness is developed into memes and even artwork to be sold on websites – even major ones like Pinterest. Their manifestos are printed around the world, along with paintings celebrating these figures as saviors of the white population in the face of the Great Replacement. 

References 

Akinola, A. O. 2020. Farm Attacks or 'White Genocide'? Interrogating the unresolved land question in South Africa. African Journal on Conflict Resolution. 23 July. 20 (2): 65-91. Available: Farm Attacks or ‘White Genocide’? Interrogating the unresolved land question in South Africa | African Journal on Conflict Resolution (ajol.info).  

Anti-Defamation League. 2018. ADL Extremely Troubled by President's Tweet on South Africa. Anti-Defamation League. 23 August. Available: ADL Extremely Troubled by President's Tweet on South Africa | ADL. 

Anti-Defamation League. N.d. Pepe The Frog. Anti-Defamation League. N.d. Available: Pepe the Frog (adl.org)  

Black Star News. 2025. Kekius Maximus Token Skyrockets: The Elon Musk Effect. 09 January. Available: Kekius Maximus Token Skyrockets: The Elon Musk Effect 

Camus, R. 2011. Le Grand Remplacement. Translated from the French by /pol/RWTS, 2012. Available: Camus, R . 2012. "The Great Replacement".pdf | DocDroid. 

Centre for Analytics and Behavioural Change. 2020. Farmlands - The Making of a Misleading ‘Documentary’. Centre for Analytics and Behavioural Change. 08 December. Avaialble: Centre for Analytics and Behavioural Change, 8 Dec Caolan Robertson - Part 1 of 3. farmlands - The Making of a Misleading ‘Documentary’ · Centre for Analytics and Behavioural Change - iono.fm.  

Cole, P. 2015. Dylann Roof’s Rhodesian, South African Flags Symbolize White Supremacy. So Does the Confederate Flag. In These Times. Available: Dylann Roof’s Rhodesian, South African Flags Symbolize White Supremacy. So Does the Confederate Flag - In These Times. 

Feels Good Man (documentary film). 2020. Directed by Arthur Jones. United States: Ready Pictures Wavelength.    

Griffith, D. W. 1915. The Birth of a Nation. (Film). Epoch Producing Co. 

Hawkinson, K. 2025. Elon Musk changes X handle to Kekius Maximus. What does it mean? The Independent. 02 January. Available: Musk changes X handle to Kekius Maximus. What does it mean? | The Independent 

Know Your Meme. 2015. Pepe the Frog. Know Your Meme. 26 March. Available: Pepe the Frog | Know Your Meme  

McKenzie, D. & Swails, B. 2018. South Africa’s Suidlanders: They're prepping for a race war. And they see Trump as their 'ray of hope'. CNN. Available: South Africa’s Suidlanders (cnn.com).  

Tarrant, B. 2019. The Great Replacement. (Manifesto)

The Argus, 2025. Most grooming gang offences carried out by white men, police chiefs say. The Argus. 10 January. Available: Most grooming gang offences carried out by white men, police chiefs say | The Argus. 

Ware, J. 2020. Transnational White Supremacist Militancy Thriving in South Africa. Council on Foreign Relations. 17 September. Available: Transnational White Supremacist Militancy Thriving in South Africa | Council on Foreign Relations (cfr.org).