Elon Musk, the owner of X (formerly known as Twitter), has threatened to sue the Anti-Defamation League (ADL) for defamation. Musk claims that the organization's statements about rising hate speech on the social media platform have significantly impacted X's advertising revenue.
According to Musk, US advertising revenue is down 60% due to pressure from the ADL on advertisers. He alleges that the ADL's accusations of anti-Semitism against him and X have been an attempt to kill the platform. Musk took over X in October 2022 and has been facing criticism regarding hate speech on the platform ever since.
Musk expressed his intention to file a defamation lawsuit against the ADL to clear X's name of any association with anti-Semitism. He acknowledged the irony of suing the Anti-Defamation League in his post on X.
The ADL has refrained from commenting on the legal threat, citing its policy. However, the organization recently met with X's leadership, including CEO Linda Yaccarino, who was hired by Musk to help revive ad revenue. Yaccarino thanked the ADL CEO Jonathan Greenblatt following the meeting, emphasizing the importance of a productive partnership built on good intentions and candor.
Meanwhile, Musk has engaged with various posts criticizing the ADL on X, and a hashtag campaign called #BanTheADL has gained traction. The ADL has accused Musk of "lifting" the campaign. The organization remains undeterred by attacks from antisemites, white supremacists, and trolls, stating that such attacks are not new to them.
Reports by the ADL and similar organizations like the Center for Countering Digital Hate (CCDH) have highlighted a significant increase in hate speech on X since Musk's ownership began. The CCDH found a triple increase in the daily use of the n-word compared to the 2022 average, along with a 58% spike in slurs against gay men and a 62% increase in slurs against trans individuals. The ADL also reported an increase in antisemitic content and a decrease in moderation of such posts.
Musk has repeatedly dismissed these reports as "utterly false." He claims that the impressions of hate speech have been declining since he took over X, despite an initial spike in hate speech designed to test his tolerance.
Nevertheless, two brands suspended their ad spending on X last month after their advertisements appeared alongside an account promoting Nazism. X took action by suspending the account and emphasized that ad impressions on the page were minimal.
In a separate legal battle, Musk sued the CCDH, accusing them of intentionally driving advertisers away from X through critical reports about the platform's handling of hateful content. The suit alleges that the CCDH violated X's terms of service and federal hacking laws by scraping data from the platform and encouraging improper data collection by a third-party brand monitoring provider.
CCDH's CEO, Imran Ahmed, referred to the lawsuit as a "conspiracy theory," asserting that Musk is attempting to shift blame for the increase in hate and disinformation on X since his tenure began. Ahmed believes that Musk's initial declaration that X is now a "free-speech platform" attracted racists, misogynists, homophobes, and antisemites, leading to the observed negative impact.
The legal battles between Musk and the ADL, as well as the CCDH, signify the ongoing challenges X faces regarding hate speech and content moderation on its platform.