Elon Musk says audits show less antisemitism on X than other apps

Billionaire Elon Musk on Monday said that X, formerly known as Twitter, has less antisemitic content on the platform than other social media applications according to audits the company has commissioned.

Musk made the remarks at a conference on combating antisemitism held in Krakow, Poland, after he visited the site of a former Nazi concentration camp at Auschwitz-Birkenau. The conference, which was organized by the European Jewish Association, looks to address the “disconcerting surge” of antisemitism in Europe since Hamas’ terror attack on Israel on Oct. 7 kicked off a war that is now in its third month.

“The outside audits that we have done… show that there is the least amount of antisemitism on X, if you look at all the other social apps,” Musk said as he was interviewed by Ben Shapiro. Reuters reported that Musk did not discuss further information about the audits at the event.

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Musk’s remarks come after the X platform was embroiled in a controversy that saw an exodus of advertisers from the platform after a report by left-wing group Media Matters showed that major corporations’ advertisements were being surfaced next to antisemitic content and, in some cases, pro-Nazi posts on X. 

X pushed back on the Media Matters report and accused the group of manipulating its feed to get such content to appear next to major brands’ ads. It then filed a defamation lawsuit against the group.

Apple, IBM and Lionsgate Entertainment were among the brands that paused advertising on the X platform amid the controversy. A report by the New York Times indicated that X could lose up to $75 million in advertising revenue through the end of 2023 due to the advertiser flight.

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In the wake of the controversy, Musk said that X will continue to stand for free speech while enabling users to push back on falsehoods disseminated by bad actors on the platform.

“I think at the end of the day free speech wins, in that if somebody says something that is false, especially on our platform, you can then reply to it with a correction,” Musk explained on Monday. “So if somebody tries to push a falsehood, like Holocaust denial, they can immediately be corrected. And you can’t get rid of the tag.”

Musk was also involved in an antisemitism controversy after he expressed agreement with a post on X from a user who espoused an antisemitic conspiracy theory. He later expressed regret for the post and rejected allegations that he is antisemitic.

“This past week, there were hundreds of bogus media stories claiming that I am antisemitic,” Musk wrote at the time. “Nothing could be further from the truth. I wish only the best for humanity and a prosperous and exciting future for all.”

Reuters contributed to this report.