Aha Dua Permata: Musk to punish ‘genocide advocates’

Sunday 19 November 2023

Musk to punish ‘genocide advocates’

Elon Musk attends the Viva Technology conference dedicated to innovation and startups at the Porte de Versailles exhibition centre on June 16, 2023 in Paris, France
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Elon Musk, owner the X social media network (formerly Twitter) has said that anyone appearing to condone or advocate for the genocide of any group of people on the service will be removed from the platform.

Musk, who last year finalized a multi-billion-dollar takeover of the company he later rebranded as X, has faced accusations that hate speech, including anti-Semitism, has increased significantly under his leadership. On Wednesday, Musk himself was accused of promoting an anti-Semitic trope after he said he agreed with a statement written by another user which suggested that Jewish people are stoking hatred against white people.

But, writing on X on Friday, Musk appeared to adopt a more neutral tone in his platform’s stewardship of controversial content. “At risk of stating the obvious, anyone advocating for the genocide of any group will be suspended from this platform,” he said.

The billionaire added that terms such as “decolonization” and “From the river to the sea” are phrases that “imply genocide” and would be sufficient to trigger a ban, adding that “clear calls for extreme violence are against our terms of service and will result in suspension.”

“Decolonization,” within the context of Israel, is generally considered to refer to the dismantling of the Jewish state. The rallying cry “From the river to the sea,” which refers to the geographic area between the Jordan River and the Mediterranean Sea, is a call for peace and equality, many pro-Palestinian activists would say. Its critics, though, view it as a demand for the destruction of Israel.

Following Musk’s controversial post earlier this week, the American tech manufacturer IBM said that it was pulling its advertising spend from X.

“IBM has zero tolerance for hate speech and discrimination,” the company said on Thursday. “We have immediately suspended all advertising on X while we investigate this entirely unacceptable situation.” Additionally, the White House on Friday accused Musk of the “abhorrent promotion of anti-Semitic racist hate.”

On Thursday, X CEO Linda Yaccarino said that the platform has been clear in its mission statement to “combat anti-Semitism and discrimination,” adding that “there’s no place for it anywhere in the world.”

In addition to IBM, major companies such as NBCUniversal, Disney, Paramount and Apple were among several others that said they were withdrawing advertisements from X in protest at Musk’s Wednesday tweet. In July, Musk admitted that the social media company’s advertising revenue had plunged by about 50% since he took control.

Elon Musk, under fire, threatens lawsuit against media watchdog

Elon Musk threatened on Saturday to sue media watchdog Media Matters and those who attacked his social media platform X, following moves by several large U.S. companies to halt advertising on the site after being promoted alongside antisemitic content.

Musk and X have been under a microscope all week for antisemitic and racist content that has proliferated on the site since he purchased it in 2022.

Liberal watchdog group Media Matters for America said earlier this week that it found ads from IBM, Apple and others were placed alongside content promoting Adolf Hitler and the Nazi Party.

Musk on Wednesday endorsed an antisemitic post on X that falsely claimed members of the Jewish community were stoking hatred against white people, drawing sharp condemnation, including from the White House.

"The split second court opens on Monday, X Corp will be filing a thermonuclear lawsuit against Media Matters and all those who colluded in this fraudulent attack on our company," Musk wrote in a post on X, without naming any other parties.

Numerous companies suspended ads in the last two days, including IBM, Disney, Warner Bros Discovery and Comcast, Lions Gate Entertainment and Paramount Global. Axios reported that Apple, the world's largest company by market value, would do the same.

"This week Media Matters for America posted a story that completely misrepresented the real experience on X, in another attempt to undermine freedom of speech and mislead advertisers," a statement posted by Musk said. He accused Media Matters of creating an alternative account designed to "misinform advertisers" about their posts.

Tesla, X (formerly known as Twitter) and SpaceX's CEO Elon Musk speaks with members of the media during the AI Safety Summit at Bletchley Park in Bletchley, Britain on November 1, 2023. Leon... Acquire Licensing Rights Read more

Media Matters on Saturday said Musk was a "bully" who threatens "meritless lawsuits".

"Musk admitted the ads at issue ran alongside the pro-Nazi content we identified," Media Matters President Angelo Carusone said in a statement.

"If he does sue us, we will win."

Musk has threatened legal action against other parties in the past, most specifically the Anti-Defamation League, a nonprofit organization that fights antisemitism, blaming it for X's loss of ad revenue. He has not yet sued the ADL, however.

Advertisers have fled the site since Musk bought it in October 2022 and reduced content moderation, resulting in a sharp rise in hate speech, according to civil rights groups.

The White House on Friday condemned Musk's endorsement of what it called a "hideous" antisemitic conspiracy theory, and accused Musk of an "abhorrent promotion of antisemitic and racist hate" that "runs against our core values as Americans".

Musk is also CEO of electric carmaker Tesla (TSLA.O), which has been hit by several lawsuits that allege rampant racial or sexual harassment of workers.

Antisemitism has been on the rise in recent years in the United States and worldwide. Following the outbreak of war between Israel and Palestinian Islamist group Hamas, which attacked Israel on Oct. 7, antisemitic incidents in the United States rose by nearly 400% from the year-earlier period, the ADL said.