On September 11, Xitter ran ads for major brands "next to openly antisemitic content, including the hashtag "JewsDid911," reports Media Matters. "In some instances, that hashtag also appeared next to the Musk-promoted 'BanTheADL' hashtag."
From Media Matters:
In recent weeks, X owner Elon Musk has given fuel to antisemitism on the platform by showing support for the "#BanTheADL."
Yaccarino has attempted to do damage control by claiming that "X opposes antisemitism in all its forms." In a post to the platform, she also wrote, "Antisemitism is evil and X will always work to fight it on our platform. And X is also always open to proactively working together in that fight with all groups." She recently told CNBC that companies are "protected from the risk of being next to" toxic content.
Free speech foe Elon Musk has announced that he intends to sue the Anti-Defamation League. He tweeted, "Since the acquisition, The @ADL has been trying to kill this platform by falsely accusing it & me of being anti-Semitic," and "To clear our platform's name on the matter of anti-Semitism, it looks like we have no choice but to file a defamation lawsuit against the Anti-Defamation League … oh the irony!"
From The Guardian:
Musk recently sued another anti-hate speech group, the Center for Countering Digital Hate, in a lawsuit accusing it of damaging X's relationship with advertisers. CCDH has said it will fight the lawsuit and keep holding "Twitter's feet to the fire."
In his posts on Tuesday, Musk added that to be "super clear" he was in favour of free speech "but against antisemitism of any kind".
The ADL describes itself as the world's leading anti-hate organisation and says its mission is "to stop the defamation of the Jewish people and to secure justice and fair treatment to all".
According to the group, antisemitic posts on X increased sharply after Musk bought the site in October 2022 and the platform subsequently reinstated extremists and conspiracy theorists, while allowing the harassment of former members of its now-dissolved trust and safety council.
One legal expert said Musk could attempt to sue for defamation under US state law but is unlikely to succeed.
"Whether or not someone is antisemitic is fundamentally a matter of opinion, which is protected expression. Elon's threats of litigation seem to be in effort to dissuade ADL from perpetuating a message he does not like," said Jennifer Safstrom, a professor at Vanderbilt University law school.
