The White House on Friday accused Elon Musk of repeating a “hideous” anti-Semitic lie on his social media site X, formerly known as Twitter.
“It is unacceptable to repeat the hideous lie behind the most fatal act of anti-Semitism in American history at any time, let alone one month after the deadliest day for the Jewish people since the Holocaust,” White House spokesman Andrew Bates said on Friday, in response to the post by Mr Musk.
“We condemn this abhorrent promotion of anti-Semitic and racist hate in the strongest terms, which runs against our core values as Americans. We all have a responsibility to bring people together against hate, and an obligation to speak out against anyone who attacks the dignity of their fellow Americans and compromises the safety of our communities.”
On Wednesday, Mr Musk sparked an outcry when responding to a user who accused Jews of hating white people and professing indifference to anti-Semitism.
“You have said the actual truth,” Mr Musk tweeted in a reply.
[ IBM pulls adverts from X after report finds they ran next to Nazi contentOpens in new window ]
Mr Musk has faced accusations of tolerating anti-Semitic messages on the platform since purchasing it last year, and the content on X has gained increased scrutiny since the war between Israel and Hamas began on October 7th.
The Anti-Defamation League, a prominent Jewish civil rights organisation which has been threatened with legal action by Mr Musk, has previously accused him of allowing anti-Semitism and hate speech to spread on the platform and amplifying the messages of neo-Nazis and white supremacists who want to ban the group.
“At a time when anti-Semitism is exploding in America and surging around the world, it is indisputably dangerous to use one’s influence to validate and promote anti-Semitic theories,” wrote Jonathan Greenblatt, the group’s chief executive.
In a meeting with Mr Musk in September, Israeli prime minister Binyamin Netanyahu told the Tesla chief executive that he hoped he could find a way to roll back anti-Semitism and other forms of hatred within the limits of the US first amendment, which guarantees the freedom of speech in the United States. - Additional reporting: Reuters
(c) Copyright Thomson Reuters 2023
