The boss of X (formerly Twitter) has announced his intention to file a complaint against the Anti-Defamation League. According to Elon Musk, the group would try to kill the social network, which he believes is falsely accused of anti-Semitism.
This is the billionaire’s new surprise decision: Elon Musk has announced that he intends to file a complaint for defamation against the Anti-Defamation League. It might seem incongruous, but the boss of X (formerly Twitter), Tesla and SpaceX had become used to more absurd things, including trying to organize a cage boxing match with Mark Zuckerberg.
Since then, the Anti-Defamation League seems to be his new obsession. On September 4, 2023, Elon Musk posted a cryptic message on Xexplaining that he was “ pro freedom of expression ” but ” against anti-Semitism. Asked by his fans, he indicates in another message that, since his takeover of Twitter which has become X, ” the ADL (an English acronym for the League, editor’s note) is trying to kill the platform by falsely accusing us of being anti-Semitic “.
According to him, the ADL, an American non-governmental organization that fights against anti-Semitism, is responsible for the 60% drop in X’s advertising revenue. Elon Musk therefore sees only one solution available to him: ” to clear our platform’s name of antisemitism, it seems we have no choice but to file a libel suit against the ADL…the irony! “.
A problem of anti-Semitism on X?
There are several things to consider in this story. First, it is not guaranteed that Elon Musk will do what he announces. The billionaire has, on several occasions, dodged his previous commitments (notably the cage fight with Zuckerberg).
Finally, it is important to address the veracity of his remarks. Is the ADL really responsible for X’s declining ad revenue? According to Muskthe group would have pressured advertisers to give up their advertising campaigns on the site – information that would come directly from these advertisers, according to Musk.
There is no concrete evidence regarding these figures, but, as CNN recalls, two brands have already announced that they are stopping running advertising campaigns on X, because their ads have been shown next to neo-Nazi accounts. . The news should have served as a wake-up call for Elon Musk. However, the solution he chose is completely the opposite: according to him, the problem would not come from the fact that there is neo-Nazi content on X, but from the ADL pointing it out.
In December 2022, a few months after the arrival of Elon Musk at the head of the social network, the ADL and the Center for Countering Digital Hate published a study showing that the volume of hate speech had exploded under his direction. Insults against LGBTQI+ people have more than doubled, and the use of “ N-word ” East ” three times higher than the 2022 average “, according to CNN.
It’s not really a surprise. The decision to bring back accounts that had been banned and to limit moderation on the social network obviously made X more dangerous for many users. Elon Musk, however, seems to prefer to blame the ADL, rather than face the consequences of his management of the social network.
According to Elon Musk, the ADL and Center Against Digital Hate studies were “ totally fake “. The boss of X had also claimed that the impressions of hate speech had been declining since his arrival at the head of the company. He then filed a complaint against the Center for Countering Digital Hate, accusing it of wanting to torpedo the platform by publishing reports critical of X.
Elon Musk tries, again, to employ the same tactic with the ADL, dodging criticism of its mismanagement, and preferring to blame external organizations that could harm it, victimizing itself and positioning itself, always, as the savior of free speech (and democracy, by the way). We had already said that the businessman had lost control of X, and it seems that his long descent into hell continues.
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