Musk refutes accusations that he is antisemitic and then clarifies that the Anti-Defamation League (ADL) and other unidentified "Jewish communities" were the target of his remarks rather than all Jews. "It is undeniably dangerous to use one's influence to validate and promote antisemitic theories at a time when antisemitism is exploding in America and surging around the world," said ADL Chief Executive Jonathan Greenblatt. The antisemitic dispute arises as a result of certain companies ceasing to purchase advertisements on X, the old name of Twitter, due to radical material on the platform.
Following a report from a left-wing media watchdog claiming that its material was displayed next to posts endorsing Adolf Hitler and Nazism, IBM halted its advertising spending. Later on, according to Axios, Apple said that it would also stop purchasing ads on the app. On Thursday, X informed the BBC that advertisements are not intentionally positioned next to extremist information, that the accounts endorsing Nazis would not get any revenue from advertising, and that certain posts will be classified as "sensitive media". According to a Politico story, the European Commission has requested that its departments cease purchasing advertisements on X because of concerns over false content regarding the Israel-Hamas conflict.
While Mr. Musk did not explicitly address his remarks on the platform on Friday, he did condemn Media Matters and provide support to other postings that were critical of IBM and the "media". The billionaire has repeatedly spread conspiracy theories and criticized social media watchdogs, such as the ADL and other organizations, for their criticism of his adjustments to X's content management. X asserts that, in comparison to other social networks, its brand safety procedures are more stringent and that, in spite of significant staff reductions, hate speech and extremism have decreased on the platform.
Contrary to the company's judgment, a number of independent organizations claim that Mr. Musk's leadership has led to a rise in extremism and hate speech. Mr. Musk said the ADL was "trying to kill this platform by falsely accusing it & me of being anti-Semitic" and made threats to sue the organization earlier this year. He attributes the dramatic decline in advertising revenue after his takeover to pressure organizations rather than disinformation and radical views. Although he hasn't followed through on his threat against the ADL, the business has filed a lawsuit against the Center for Countering Digital Hate, a different research and advocacy organization.
CCDH described the X complaint as "an attempt to censor, intimidate, and silence" in a move to dismiss the case filed on Thursday under California's anti-SLAPP statute, often known as "Strategic Lawsuits Against Public Participation" law.
Promotion After Elon Musk endorsed an anti-Semitic conspiracy theory on Friday, X, previously Twitter, began to see a departure of well-known advertisers. Apple, Disney, Comcast, Lionsgate Entertainment, and Paramount Global have joined the nonprofit organization Media Matters' list of businesses that have stopped running ads on X. Elon Musk's recent antisemitic remarks have caused Lionsgate to halt its advertising on X, a representative for the film production and distribution business told AFP.
Promotion Due to a revelation that its advertisements were displayed next to pro-Nazi messages on X, IBM said on Thursday that it has ceased running ads there. Requests for comments were not answered by Apple or Disney. According to the organization, "major blue-chip companies are announcing they will suspend all advertising," on a webpage with an ongoing list. - White House criticism The White House on Friday condemned Musk, the world’s richest person, for “abhorrent promotion” of anti-Semitism. Promotion The White House was reacting to a post by Musk in which the controversial Tesla and SpaceX tycoon replied to an anti-Semitic post on X with the words: “You have said the actual truth.”
The White House and US media have interpreted the original tweet as alluding to a long-standing conspiracy theory among White nationalists that Jews are plotting to bring in illegal immigrants in order to erode the power of white majorities. The shooter who killed 11 people in a mass shooting at a Pittsburgh synagogue in 2018 is most infamous for having pushed for this notion. White House spokesperson Andrew Bates stated that it was "unacceptable" to repeat such a "hideous lie," referring to Musk's statement.
Promotion Bates declared, "We strongly condemn this heinous promotion of anti-Semitic and racist hate, which goes against our core values as Americans." - "Chaos induced by Musk" Since rebranding Twitter as X a year ago, Musk has removed restrictions on content moderation, reinstated the accounts of extremists who had been banned, and made it possible for users to buy account verification, which enables them to profit from widely shared but frequently false information.
Paying customers at X were the main disseminators of false information during the Israel-Hamas conflict, according to a recent analysis by the disinformation monitoring organization NewsGuard. Media Matters posted examples of what it discovered at X and stated, "During all of this Musk-induced chaos, corporate advertisements have also been appearing on pro-Hitler, Holocaust denial, white nationalist, pro-violence, and neo-Nazi accounts." Ads for Apple, Oracle, and IBM were reportedly seen next to posts on X that promoted Hitler and the Nazi Party, according to Media Matters.
In response to an AFP query, the New York-based tech company stated, "IBM has zero tolerance for hate speech and discrimination and we have immediately suspended all advertising on X while we investigate this completely unacceptable situation." An X official informed AFP that they had completed a "sweep" of the accounts that Media Matters had identified, and they would no longer be able to monetize their advertising. The CEO stated that the posts themselves will be classified as "sensitive media." "User targeting works when ads follow the people on X, in this case, the Media Matter researcher who was going to actively look for this content," the executive said via email.
