Elon Musk seems to be preparing for a legal battle against the Anti-Defamation League or ADL, alleging $22 billion in damages, accusing the Jewish non-governmental organization that seeks to fight anti-semitism and extremism around the world, of sabotaging his social media platform, X, through false contention of anti-Semitism.
What Happened: In a series of fiery posts on Monday, Musk said that the ADL is somewhat responsible for a 60% plummet in X’s advertising revenue, referring to what he stated are the organization’s unfounded allegations of anti-Semitism.
See Also: Elderly Layoffs At Elon Musk’s X? Lawsuit Targets Age Discrimination Amidst Major Cuts
The dispute centered on the ADL’s allegations that X, formerly Twitter, has failed to curb hate speech and extremist content on the platform since Musk acquired the microblogging site for $44 billion last year.
The tech billionaire, a “free speech” absolutist, firmly denied any anti-Semitic agenda within the company and accused the ADL of wielding undue influence over the platform’s advertising revenue.
According to Musk, advertisers could become wary of their association with X due to the ADL's allegations, resulting in a permanent "pause" in ad campaigns until the ADL gives the green signal.
Why It’s Important: Last year, Musk was heavily criticized for reinstating the account of rap star “Ye,” formerly known as Kanye West, after a two-year hiatus that began during the November 2020 U.S. presidential election.
However, his account was again suspended in December when Ye posted objectionable tweets, including antisemitic comments. After an eight-month ban, Ye’s account was reinstated again earlier this year, although he’s yet to post anything.
Musk also lifted the two-year suspension from former president Donald Trump’s account, who was booted from the site following the Capitol riot.
Previously, Oreo cookie maker Mondelez International said that after Musk’s takeover of Twitter, hate speech has increased on the site.
In October, it was reported that the use of the N-word on Twitter has increased by approximately 500% compared to the previous average.
However, in July this year, the Twitter Safety account highlighted a decrease in hate speech on the platform, citing an AI-based model developed by Sprinklr, although it was met with severe suspicions.
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