Musk declared he would launch a “thermonuclear lawsuit” against Media Matters and other parties following the halting of major US companies’ advertisements on Elon Musk’s social media platform due to concerns regarding antisemitism.
Corporate advertisements from IBM, Apple, Oracle, and Comcast’s Xfinity were found to be running alongside antisemitic content, including praise for Adolf Hitler and the Nazis, according to a report released earlier this week by media watchdog Media Matters.
As a result, several well-known figures in media and technology declared they would no longer be running advertisements. Disney, Warner Brothers, and Paramount were also involved.
“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 said in a post on X, formerly known as Twitter.
Musk said on Wednesday that the person who made reference to the “great replacement” conspiracy theory in a post on X was expressing “the actual truth,” refuting the false claim made by the poster that Jews were inciting anti-White sentiment.
“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.
“Above everything, including profit, X works to protect the public’s right to free speech. But for speech to be truly free, we must also have the freedom to see or hear things that some people may consider objectionable,” he added.
He has denied being antisemitic in the past, but he did not address the controversy surrounding his tweet.
Musk continued by disputing Media Matters’ conclusions.
When Musk purchased X in November 2022, Apple was one of the company’s largest advertisers, spending up to $100 million (£80 million) annually, according to Bloomberg.
Since then, there has been a downward trend in the number of X advertisers and users, and Musk introduced a premium membership system with the stated goal of combating bots on the website.
In a statement released on Friday, the White House echoed the outcry against Musk’s tweet, describing it as a “abhorrent promotion of antisemitic and racist hate” that “runs against our core values as Americans.”
The White House spokesperson, Andrew Bates, stated in reference to the attacks on October 7th, by Hamas against Israel, that “it is unacceptable to repeat the hideous lie.” a month following the Jewish people’s bloodiest day since the Holocaust.
