Elon Musk threatens to sue Jewish groups for 'causing X's poor ad sales'



Since Elon Musk acquired X (then Twitter) in 2022, X has been struggling with its advertising business, which is its main source of revenue, as many major advertisers have

stopped placing ads with X and the company's advertising revenue has stagnated . Meanwhile, Musk, who retired from his position as CEO and became X's CTO and director, posted a statement on X suggesting that he would sue X, claiming that the cause of the slump in advertising revenue was pressure on X by the Anti-Defamation League (ADL) , the largest Jewish organization in the United States.

Elon Musk blames Anti-Defamation League for ad sales slump, threatens lawsuit
https://www.axios.com/2023/09/04/elon-musk-anti-defamation-league-x-ad-sales-slump

Elon Musk 'likes' trending #BanTheADL posts as white supremacist ad runs on platform | Mashable
https://mashable.com/article/x-twitter-elon-musk-white-supremacist-ad-ban-adl-hashtag

'Let me be clear: I am for free speech but against anti-Semitism,' Musk began in a September 4, 2023 post on X.



When an X user asked about the meaning of his remarks, Musk explained , 'Since the acquisition, ADL has been trying to destroy the platform by falsely claiming that the platform and I are anti-Semitic. In a subsequent post, Musk further criticized the ADL, saying, 'X's advertising revenue in the US is still down 60% due in large part to ADL's pressure on advertisers. This is what I'm hearing from advertisers.'



When asked if they would take any action, they replied, 'If this continues, ironically, we will have no choice but to file a defamation lawsuit against the Anti-Defamation League. If they lose the defamation lawsuit, we will demand that they remove the 'Anti' part from their name,' indicating their willingness to file a lawsuit.



The background to Musk's mention of the ADL is a report by the ADL that pointed out a sharp increase in hate speech on X. In a report released in May 2023, the ADL announced that 'as a result of Musk's policy to unfreeze X accounts, more than 5,000 malicious anti-Semitic claims have been identified from 2,173 accounts since February.'

As ADL continues to criticize X, Musk has begun to take a confrontational stance. The direct trigger for this was the exchange between ADL president Jonathan Greenblatt and X CEO Linda Yaccarino, and the reaction of X users to it.

In response to Greenblatt's post saying, 'I had a very frank and productive conversation with CEO Linda Yaccarino about how to address hate speech on X,' Yaccarino expressed her gratitude. In response, X users launched a campaign called '#BanTheADL,' and the hashtag became a trending topic on X.



Responding to the #BanTheADL trend, Musk said: 'Should we do a poll on this?'



This is not the first time Musk has clashed with anti-discrimination groups: he previously threatened to sue the UK-based non-profit organization , the Center for Countering Digital Hate (CCDH) , which monitors hate speech, for making 'troubling and unfounded allegations.'

X (formerly Twitter) threatens lawsuit against non-profit organization that points out 'hate speech has surged on Twitter since Musk's acquisition' - GIGAZINE



In a statement, an ADL spokesperson said, 'We are not surprised or dismayed that anti-Semites, white supremacists, conspiracy theorists, and other trolls have launched a coordinated attack on our organization. While hateful groups were apparently upset by the meeting between ADL and X leaders, we will not be intimidated by these insidious efforts; rather, they will drive us to remain steadfast in our commitment to combating hatred in all forms and ensuring the safety of the Jewish community and other marginalized groups.'

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in Web Service, Posted by log1l_ks