Billionaire Elon Musk said he will file a defamation lawsuit against the Anti-Defamation League (ADL) to “clear” his social media platform’s name against charges of anti-Semitic content. It all began with a series of Twitter exchanges over the weekend, when Musk doubled down on his criticism of the ADL and engaged with a notorious figure known for his antisemitic and white nationalist views. The online exchange revolved around Musk’s assertion that the ADL’s aggressive stance on banning social media accounts, even for minor rule violations, ironically contributed to the proliferation of antisemitism on the platform. Musk’s comments were made in response to Keith O’Brien, a far-right Irish activist who goes by the online alias Keith Woods. Notably, O’Brien had previously been banned by Twitter for hate speech but had his account reinstated under Musk’s influence. Last week, O’Brien played a big role in promoting the campaign to “ban the ADL,” which gained traction on social media. On Friday, Musk publicly supported O’Brien’s call to ban the organization, sparking widespread controversy. Musk, who has identified himself as a free speech “absolutist,” even contemplated polling Twitter users on whether the civil rights organization should be banned from the platform. In response to Musk’s remarks, the ADL issued a statement on Saturday, expressing their resolve in the face of what they described as a coordinated attack on their organization by antisemites, white supremacists, conspiracy theorists, and trolls. The ADL highlighted its recent participation in the 60th Anniversary of the March on Washington and a meeting with the leadership of Twitter, now known as “X,” as possible triggers for the online backlash. On Monday, Musk tweeted that he’s not really an anti-Semite. “To be super clear, I’m pro free speech, but against anti-Semitism of any kind,” Musk posted. Musk then responded to a user who pointed out that Chaya Raichik, the frum Crown Heights woman who gained national attention for her X account, LibsofTikTok, which exposes radical liberal agendas across the country, was called an extremist by the ADL. “ADL has pushed hard for us to shut down account like Chaya’s, even though it has nothing to do with anti-Semitism, which is their supposed charter!” Musk wrote. Raichik replied to the X owner, requesting that he release all communications on the ADL and other organization who’ve pushed to censor accounts on X (formerly Twitter). “Great point,” Musk replied. “A giant data dump would clear the air.” Musk later tweeted: “To clear our platform’s name on the matter of anti-Semitism, it looks like we have no choice but to file a defamation lawsuit against the Anti-Defamation Leadue… oh the irony!” A user then noted that the ADL has been sued previously over defamation, including a case in Colorado in which it was required to shell out $10.5 million. “Interesting,” Musk responded. “In our case they would potentially be on the hook for destroying half of the value of the company, so roughly $22 billion.” He went on to accuse the ADL of being “responsible for most of our revenue loss.” He noted that advertisers avoid controversy, “so all that is needed for ADL to crush our US & European ad revenue is to make unfounded accusations.” (YWN World Headquarters – NYC)
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