Mr Viral
Elon Musk’s X has expanded its lawsuit against companies that choose not to advertise on the social media platform, adding Lego, Nestle, Tyson Foods, and a host of others recently, according to a new report from USA Today. X alleges the companies broke antitrust laws by deciding not to advertise on the social media site, which has been plagued by a surge in hate speech and extremist content since Musk purchased the platform in late 2022. And it’s that extremism that has Jewish leaders calling for a boycott of X, as well as a plea for Apple and Google to drop the X app from their stores.
A group of 165 Jewish leaders, including rabbis and activists, released a new statement laying out the multitude of ways that antisemitism has exploded on X since Musk took over. Musk denies being antisemitic, but has recently gotten the world’s attention after giving what appeared to be two Nazi-style salutes at a rally for Donald Trump the day the president was inaugurated.
“From the Nazi salute to his Holocaust ‘jokes’ to his support of the extremist AfD party in Germany, Musk’s antisemitism has moved to the international stage,” the new statement from the group X Out the Hate reads. “Almost daily, he spreads heinous conspiracy theories like the Great Replacement conspiracy theory, promotes neo-Nazis, and agrees with tweets claiming Jews push hate against white people.”
The group refers to Musk as “one of the leading purveyors of antisemitism in the world” and says he “presents an urgent danger to Jews and many other groups the world over.” X Out the Hate also notes that Musk has gained even more power since the group first called for a boycott of X back in late 2023.
“He and his Department of Government Efficiency have taken control of the Treasury Department’s payment system as well as the General Services Administration,” the group writes.
Musk has indeed gained access to sensitive data within government and new reporting from Wired on Tuesday even indicates that the billionaire’s goons have the power to alter data. Previously, reporting from the Wall Street Journal and New York Times claimed the DOGE workers could only view data, likening it to “read-only” mode, but those claims were opaquely sourced, suggesting they were most likely asserted by allies of Musk and Trump. The U.S. Attorney for the District of Columbia has even threatened to prosecute anyone who impedes DOGE workers.
X Out the Hate is calling for major advertisers to leave Musk’s social media platform and for major media companies, journalists, celebrities, and politicians with over 100,000 followers to just leave X entirely. The group has also urged major shareholders at X, Tesla, and SpaceX to demand some kind of accountability for the hate that’s been nurtured on X.
And while X didn’t immediately respond to questions emailed Tuesday, it’s unlikely that Musk will take the calls for a boycott well. The billionaire oligarch filed suit last year against the World Federation of Advertisers (WFA), which led a campaign called the Global Alliance for Responsible Media (GARM) to make sure advertisers could ensure their brands were only advertising on platforms deemed safe—which is to say, platforms that didn’t have an abundance of extremist content.
Musk’s lawsuit seems to have worked in some capacity, with Unilever resuming advertising on X back in October. And Musk seems as emboldened as ever, expanding his lawsuit to many more companies this week.
There doesn’t seem to be much that can stop Musk from pillaging the U.S. government right now, as all available reporting indicates DOGE is still deep inside the plumbing that allows our country to operate by sending out Social Security checks and just paying our bills. But a few people are standing up to demand
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