British scientific community attacks Elon Musk; calls for his expulsion from the Royal Society
Elon Musk joined the Royal Society in 2018 for his work in various sectors such as technology and space.
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The controversial actions of Elon Musk motivated more than 3,000 scientists, as well as various Nobel Prize winners, to request the expulsion of the entrepreneur from the Royal Society, a prestigious institution in the United Kingdom.
According to a statement shared by the applicants with the AFP, last February, the main reason for demanding Musk's exit from this organization is his constant promotion of "baseless conspiracy theories," which has violated the code of conduct and ethics of the Royal Society.
It is worth mentioning that the owner of companies like Tesla was admitted to the institution in 2018 thanks to his work and impact in various sectors such as space and technology.
What will the Royal Society do?
The Royal Society, founded in 1660, has more than 1,800 members worldwide, including 85 Nobel Prize winners and prominent figures in the scientific world such as Isaac Newton, Charles Darwin, Albert Einstein, and Stephen Hawking.
Through the Bluesky social network, Stephen Curry, author of the expulsion request letter, stated that Musk is recognized as "one of the most active disseminators of fake news."
In addition to the emeritus professor of structural biology at the Imperial College London, the winner of the 2024 Nobel Prize in Physics, Geoffrey Hinton, who is considered one of the fathers of Artificial Intelligence, joined the request. Through his X account, Hinton supported Musk's expulsion for the "enormous damage he is doing to scientific institutions in the United States."
In the same message, Hinton pointed out that the billionaire has used his X account to spread falsehoods or inaccurate information about vaccines, Covid-19, among other sensitive issues.
Following Hinton's comments, Elon Musk himself responded with a message showing his disdain or lack of interest regarding his possible expulsion from the Royal Society: "Only fools, cowards, and insecure people care about awards and memberships. History is the true judge, always. Your comments are ignorant, cruel, and false."
After the request and the series of messages from some of the signatories, the Royal Society shared a statement with the AFP mentioning that "any planetary issue regarding individual members is handled with strict confidentiality."
As of now, and after the recent meeting held by the Royal Society on Monday, March 3, the membership status of Elon Musk or any related information is unknown.
*This article has been automatically translated using artificial intelligence
