Elon Musk accused of funding 'fake' voter registration site ahead of US midterm elections 'designed to mine and sell data'
The website, called votesafe.org, is owned by America PAC, a super committee created by the tech billionaire to support Donald Trump's 2024 presidential campaign
Elon Musk has been accused of financing a 'fake' voter registration website designed to collect and sell users' data to third party businesses.
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Adverts for Vote Safe have appeared across the internet, with the site claiming to "provide you with the information you need to vote with confidence".
Requesting users enter personal information, the site collects data including your name, address, phone number, voter-registration status, political affiliation, demographic information, browsing activity including IP address, and inferences about user behaviour.
However, critics have urged caution, insisting the site could be mistaken for a voter registration, particularly given the site banner reads "Register to Vote" and "Under 18? Register to vote as soon as you can!"
The website, funded by Musk's America PAC, does not allow users to register to vote. Instead, the site's capture form harvests user data, with the website's small print detailing that details may be sold to third parties.
It comes as thousands of citizens across key US states, who were previously registered to vote, have reported that their voter registrations have been suspended for no clear reason ahead of the midterms.
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The Vote Safe website was created and funded by America PAC (political action committee) - an organisation set up to fund Donald Trump's 2024 election campaign and backed by tech billionaire Elon Musk.
According to official donation declarations, 91% of contributions made to America PAC, widely described as a 'Super PAC' due to the vast levels of funding, came solely from Musk as of December 2024.
It comes as political ads with fictional trans individuals appeared across the internet targeting Democrats, adverts funded by Musk's America PAC.
It's led internet users to raise concerns that votesafe.org could be misleading, given it closely resembles Vote.org - an official government website that enables voter registration without personal data being harvested and sold to third party organisations.
LBC has contacted America PAC for comment.
To-date, paid-for adverts promoting the Super PAC's website have appeared on platforms including Facebook, Threads and Bluesky in recent days.
Adverts fail to note that the site does not allow users to register.
The website's original privacy policy prevented America PAC from sharing this information with third party advertisers, political organizations and private companies.
However, recent days have seen the wording altered to permit the sale of data to these organisations and “our business partners.” for profit.
It comes after President Donald Trump said he would pay every American adult a $5,000 "Trump dividend" if Republicans retain control of Congress in November's midterm election.
The suggestion led Democrats to label it an "empty promise" and others questioned whether such a pledge was legal.
Trump made the proposal at his Republican Party's first-ever midterm convention, but it was not immediately clear how the payments would work or whether they would be legal.
With approximately 270 million US adults, the idea would cost around $1.35 trillion.