Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is set to meet with billionaire entrepreneur Elon Musk during his upcoming visit to the United States next week, as confirmed by Netanyahu’s office. While the agenda for the meeting has not been disclosed, it occurs at a time when Musk’s social media platform X, formerly known as Twitter, is embroiled in accusations of tolerating antisemitic content.
The Anti-Defamation League (ADL), a prominent Jewish civil-rights organization, has accused Musk of permitting the spread of antisemitism and hate speech on X. Jonathan Greenblatt, the ADL’s director, asserted that Musk had “amplified” the messages of neo-Nazis and white supremacists who sought to ban the ADL by engaging with them on X.
On September 4, Musk claimed that the ADL was attempting to undermine X by falsely accusing the platform and himself of being antisemitic. He also blamed the ADL for a substantial drop in X’s revenue and hinted at the possibility of filing a defamation lawsuit against the organization. Nevertheless, as of Thursday, no such lawsuit has been filed.
Meanwhile, X initiated a legal action against another organization that had investigated the proliferation of hate speech on the platform. In August, X filed a lawsuit against the nonprofit Center for Countering Digital Hate, alleging that the organization had violated X’s terms of service by collecting extensive data for its analysis. X’s lawsuit contended that the research, which highlighted an increase in hate speech on the platform since Musk’s takeover, had cost the company millions in advertising revenue.
However, analysts tracking X have argued that Musk’s disruptive changes to the platform, including rebranding it from Twitter to X, have led to a decline in advertiser interest. Greenblatt expressed his group’s willingness to collaborate with X and recently held a meeting with the company’s CEO, Linda Yaccarino. Both Musk and Yaccarino have publicly declared their opposition to antisemitism.
Netanyahu’s itinerary includes a visit to San Francisco followed by New York, where he plans to address the U.N. General Assembly and meet with President Joe Biden.