by Elon Musk has insisted he is not anti-Semitic after coming under fire for calling an anti-Semitic conspiracy theory the “real truth” and as a host of major companies pulled advertising funding from X for spreading pro-Nazi content.
Musk sparked outrage on social media last week, with many accusing the tech mogul of anti-Semitism.
In a post on X on Sunday, Musk responded to the accusations, arguing that “nothing could be further from the truth.”
“In the past week, there have been hundreds of false media stories claiming that I am anti-Semitic. Nothing could be further from the truth,” he wrote.
“I wish only the best for humanity and a prosperous and exciting future for all.”
The saga began when a social media user appeared to promote the “grand replacement” conspiracy theory on X, claiming that Jewish communities are “pushing the exact kind of anti-white hate speech they claim they want people to stop using against them ».
“I do not deeply care to make the slightest note now about the Western Jewish populations coming to the disturbing realization that those hordes of minorities who support the flood of their country do not like them very much. You want the truth told to your face, here it is,” the post added.
Musk responded to the post, writing on his X platform: “You spoke the real truth.”
The original post came in response to a campaign video posted on X by the Foundation to Combat Anti-Semitism. In the video, a father can be seen calling out his son for the hate speech the son has spewed online.
Mr Musk's response received praise from white nationalist Nick Fuentes – while prompting widespread backlash from dozens of others online.
CNN's Jake Tapper was among the first to condemn the tech mogul, accusing him of “pushing harmless anti-Semitism at a time of rising anti-Semitism and anti-Jewish violence.”
The White House subsequently stood down as well, accusing Musk of allowing the “abhorrent promotion of anti-Semitic and racist hatred.”
The anti-Semitism controversy continued when, later in the week, a number of major companies – including Disney, Apple and IBM – said they would pull advertising from X after ads for the companies appeared alongside pro-Nazi posts.
On Thursday, Media Matters, a left-wing nonprofit group, released a report saying it found ads from big brands including IBM, Apple, Oracle and Bravo alongside pro-Hitler and anti-Semitic content.
It's not clear how that happened, but it happened after Mr. Musk relaxed moderation policies at X and cut many employees working on security on the platform when its $44 billion acquisition closed last year.
Elon Musk insisted he's not anti-Semitic after coming under fire for calling an anti-Semitic conspiracy theory the real truth
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said a representative of X The independent the company deliberately did not place the ads next to the posts from the anti-Semitic accounts, which have now been isolated, meaning that the ad can no longer appear on their profiles.
In response to the advertising boycott, Mr. Musk threatened to file a “thermonuclear lawsuit against Media Matters and all those who collaborated in this fraudulent attack on our company.”
The scandal comes as X CEO Linda Yaccarino and other staff try to put out the fires Musk has lit after a growing number of accusations that the billionaire promoted anti-Semitism, according to The New York Times.
The agency said it saw messages from X sales staff asking what they should tell their customers, who raised concerns about both Mr Musk's recent statements and ads appearing next to anti-Semitic posts.
It is not the first time that the businessman has been accused of being linked to content that promotes anti-Semitism.
In the days following the October 7 Hamas terror attack in Israel, Musk was forced to delete a post where he bolstered an account widely accused of anti-Semitism and promoted debunked videos as credible sources of information about the attack.
Meanwhile, last year, the advocacy group American Jewish Committee called on Musk to apologize for a controversial post that made a satirical comparison between Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and Adolf Hitler.
Musk has insisted in the past that he is “for free speech” but against anti-Semitism “of any kind”.
In September, he threatened to sue the Anti-Defamation League – a century-old NGO that bills itself as “the world's leading anti-hate organization” – after the organization accused him of anti-Semitism.
