Elon Musk, the world’s richest man and owner of social media network X, formerly known as Twitter, called an anti-Semitic post on the platform the “real truth.”
The comment comes from a post from an
Musk responded, “You told the real truth” while also criticizing the Anti-Defamation League, an advocacy group that works to combat hate against Jewish people. Musk tweeted, “The ADL unjustly attacks the majority of the West despite the fact that the majority of the West supports the Jewish people and Israel. This is because they cannot, in accordance with their principles, criticize minority groups. Who are the primary threat to them.”
The comments come amid heightened tensions over the Israel-Hamas war, which has led to clashes on US college campuses over alleged anti-Semitic and anti-Muslim incidents. Meanwhile, anti-Semitic incidents have increased significantly across the US since Hamas militants launched a surprise attack on Israel in October and launched Israeli strikes in Gaza, according to data released by the ADL.
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The sentiment of the original post echoes some anti-Semitic conspiracy theories, which claim that Jewish people want to bring in minorities to weaken the white majority. This belief was supported by convicted murderer Robert Bowers, who vented anger against Jewish people online before shooting and killing 11 people at the Tree of Life Synagogue in Pittsburgh in 2018.
In response to Musk’s comments, ADL CEO Jonathan Greenblatt wrote on “Using the influence of is undeniably dangerous.”
Musk has previously taken aim at ADL, threatening to sue the group in September for allegedly accusing both him and Was inspired to leave. The year Musk bought the social media company, he transformed the service by firing its CEO and several employees, including people who worked on content moderation. Critics say this has led to an increase in hate speech on X.
Musk, whose personal wealth is estimated by Forbes at $243 billion, has used the Has increased. His comments have been criticized as offensive to some groups, such as transgender people, while critics say he has allowed hate speech to flourish on X.
IBM stops advertising on X due to Nazi report
Meanwhile, IBM said Thursday it had suspended all advertising on X following a report by left-leaning Media Matters that ads for the computer giant had appeared next to Nazi material on the platform.
“IBM has a zero tolerance for hate speech and discrimination and we have immediately suspended all advertising on X while we investigate this completely unacceptable situation,” a spokesperson said in an email to CBS MoneyWatch.
Other big advertisers, including Apple, Oracle and Comcast’s Xfinity, have also seen their ads appear next to Nazi-themed content on the social media platform, Media Matters reported Thursday.
Media Matters posted screenshots of an Apple advertisement for Mac computers and an IBM advertisement next to the post, which included an image of Adolf Hitler and his followers, describing Hitler as having a “spiritual awakening”.
Oracle, Apple and Comcast’s Xfinity did not immediately respond to requests for comment.
Even before, advertisers have shied away from X in part due to concerns about their content appearing near hate speech. The Washington Post reported last month that the service had seen a 30% decline in the number of people actively tweeting.
Anger is increasing in America due to increasing incidents of hatred over the war between Israel and Hamas.
But Musk has more to lose than advertisers and users, given that he bought Twitter for $44 billion in a deal that included a $12.5 billion loan from banks including Morgan Stanley and Bank of America . According to the New York Times report, the value of
That recession means that the value of banks’ investments has declined significantly and it may be difficult for them to recover their loans.
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