Elon Musk Condemned After Calling Antisemitic Post ‘Actual Truth’

Topline

A response by Elon Musk on X, formerly known as Twitter, has sparked outrage after Musk endorsed another user’s claims that Jewish communities objecting to antisemitism show the “exact kind” of hatred against white people—which Musk commended as the “actual truth.”

Key Facts

Chief Critic

Longtime tech journalist and podcaster Kara Swisher said on CNN Wednesday night Musk is “always in a permanent state of grievance…what he’s doing is promoting hate. And there is a difference between free speech and speech designed to hurt people.” CNN anchor Jake Tapper wrote Musk was “pushing unvarnished antisemitism at a time of rising antisemitism and violence against Jews.” Bloomberg columnist Matthew Yglesias wrote that “America's richest man chimes in to say that Jews are getting what we deserve for being liberals.”

Forbes Valuation

Musk is the richest person in the world with a net worth of $247.3 billion, according to our latest estimates.

Tangent

Musk received criticism last year after he posted a meme to X that compared Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau to Adolf Hitler. Musk deleted the post the following day. The Auschwitz-Birkenau Museum condemned Musk for the post, suggesting Musk using an image of Hitler was “exploiting the tragedy of all people” who suffered under the Nazi regime.

Key Background

Musk has grappled this year with the ADL, which has been highly critical of what it calls a rise in antisemitic posting on X. Musk then blamed the ADL for X’s 60% decline in ad revenue, saying ADL had been urging advertisers to pull out of the platform, causing Musk to suggest he would “have no choice” but to file a defamation claim against the group. The ADL released a report in May that alleged 72% of tweets that were flagged as antisemitic were not removed. Musk also called the group “so aggressive” in their efforts to “ban social media accounts for even minor infractions,” adding the ADL was “ironically the biggest generators of antisemitism on this platform.”

Surprising Fact

The conspiracy theory that Jewish communities aim to bring immigrants into Western countries to reduce white majorities was echoed by Robert Bowers, who killed 11 people at Pittsburgh’s Tree of Life synagogue in 2018, the deadliest attack on Jewish people in U.S. history, the Atlantic notes. Bowers was sentenced to death earlier this year.

Further Reading

Musk Blames Anti-Defamation League For X’s Poor Ad Sales, Threatens Lawsuit (Forbes)

Musk Fans Conspiracies About George Soros After Billionaire’s Fund Dumps All Tesla Holdings (Forbes)

Elon Musk Calls Antisemitic Post On X The ‘Actual Truth’ (Bloomberg)