What Elon Musk Wants to Achieve by Visiting Israel & Why He is Accused of Antisemitism | EXPLAINED

Elon Musk will meet Israeli President Isaac Herzog and representatives of the families of hostages held in Gaza on Monday amid a controversy over his alleged antisemitism post.

The meeting comes as Musk, owner of X, formerly known as Twitter, has come under fire over what critics say is a proliferation of hate speech on the social media site since his takeover.

The world’s richest person is not only criticised for defending his views after endorsing an antisemitism post but also accused of amplifying anti-Jewish hatred on X, formerly Twitter.

The White House has accused Musk of “abhorrent promotion” of anti-Semitism after endorsing a conspiracy theory seen as accusing Jews of trying to weaken white majorities.

The meeting will also be joined by representatives of families of hostages held by Hamas, who will speak about the horrors of the Hamas terror attack on October 7, and of the ongoing pain and uncertainty for those held captive.

Why Musk is Accused of Anti-semitism?

Elon Musk was caught in a controversy earlier this month after he replied to a post sharing an antisemitic conspiracy theory, calling it “actual truth”.

Musk responded with his “truth” comment to a post that accused Jewish communities of pushing “hatred against whites” and which included anti-immigrant sentiments.

The original post has been perceived by the White House and the US media as a reference to a longtime conspiracy theory among White supremacists that Jews have a secret plan to bring in illegal immigrants to weaken white majorities. The idea was promoted by the man who carried out a mass shooting at a synagogue in Pittsburgh in 2018, killing 11 people.

The White House on Friday condemned Musk, the world’s richest person, for “abhorrent promotion” of anti-Semitism. White House spokesman Andrew Bates said it was “unacceptable” to repeat such a “hideous lie.”

“We condemn this abhorrent promotion of anti-Semitic and racist hate in the strongest terms, which runs against our core values as Americans,” Bates said.

Earlier in September, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu urged Musk to combat anti-Semitism on X, calling on him to find “the ability to stop not only anti-Semitism, or rolling it back as best you can, but any collective hatred”.

Musk, the world’s richest person, said while his website could not stop all hate speech before it was posted, he was “generally against attacking any group, no matter who it is”.

Fallout of Anti-semitism Row

In the wake of controversy over anti-Semitic posts, there was an exodus of big-name advertisers from X, formerly Twitter. Several high-profile brands including Apple, Disney, Comcast, Lionsgate Entertainment, and Paramount Global paused their advertising on X.

The ads of companies including Apple, Oracle and IBM were reportedly displayed next to posts touting Hitler and the Nazi Party on X.

“Lionsgate has suspended advertising on X because of Elon Musk’s recent antisemitic tweets,” a spokesperson for the motion picture production and distribution company told AFP.

IBM on Thursday said it stopped advertising on X due to a report its ads were shown next to pro-Nazi posts at X.

The exodus of big brands, which make the major portion of revenue for the social media site, came as a major blow to the platform that has been trying to win back advertisers and their ad dollars.

The European Commission also asked its departments to stop buying ads on Musk’s platform because of concerns over misinformation regarding the Israel-Hamas war, according to Politico.

According to CBS News, adverstising on X declined by 60 per cent in September and revenue has cratered. The global web traffic on X declined by 14 per cent, while overall traffic decreased by almost 7 per cent.

Musk filed a lawsuit against nonprofit Media Matters for driving advertisers away from the platform by portraying it as rife with anti-Semitic content.

In a lawsuit filed in US federal court in Texas, X accuses the organization of “tricking the algorithm into thinking Media Matters wanted to view both hateful content and content from large advertisers.”

X accused Media Matters of duping its algorithm by following only accounts known for extreme, fringe content along with big-name brands.

What Will Elon Musk Achieve from Meeting?

In the meeting with the Israeli President, Musk appears to cool down the criticism that has been simmering against him and his company over the past months. It’s unclear whether Musk intends to raise other issues while in Israel, which is waging war against Hamas.

Recently, several leaders in Europe have come forward expressing solidarity with Israel and denouncing all forms of antisemitism.

UK premier Rishi Sunak became the latest to speak out against Musk, in a careful criticism that stopped short of the full-throated condemnation by U.S. President Joe Biden. “I don’t tend to get in the business of scrutinizing what every single person says who I’ve interacted with. Of course I abhor antisemitism,” UK PM Sunak said in an interview, adding “It doesn’t matter whether you’re Elon Musk or you’re someone on the street who’s shouting abuse at someone who happens to be walking past you.”

On Sunday, tens of thousands of people, including former UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson, attended a march against antisemitism in central London.