Musk’s insinuation to sue over defamation is merely a ‘risk of a frivolous lawsuit’

Elon Musk’s current feedback insinuating that the real-time messaging service previously referred to as Twitter might file a defamation lawsuit in opposition to the Anti-Defamation League is merely a “risk of a frivolous lawsuit,” the nonprofit’s CEO Jonathan Greenblatt mentioned Tuesday.

In a press release shared with CNBC, Greenblatt dismissed allegations Musk made over the Labor Day weekend, by which he claimed the ADL was “attempting to kill this platform by falsely accusing it & me of being anti-Semitic.” The nonprofit’s CEO added that Musk’s “conduct is not only alarming nor reckless.”

“It’s flat out harmful and deeply irresponsible,” Greenblatt mentioned. “We want accountable leaders to steer, to cease inflaming hatred and to step again from the brink earlier than it is too late.”

The ADL chief’s feedback come after Musk claimed on Monday that the ADL was chargeable for placing “stress on advertisers” that led to a 60% drop in X’s promoting income. Musk alleged that the ADL “has been attempting to kill this platform by falsely accusing it & me of being anti-Semitic,” ever since he purchased the messaging service final fall in a deal price roughly $44 billion.

Musk mentioned X, the corporate previously referred to as Twitter, would have “no choice but to file a defamation lawsuit” if the ADL continues to allegedly stress advertisers.

A number of civil rights teams and researchers have documented an increase in hate speech, racist feedback and different inflammatory posts on X after Musk gained management of the messaging app final fall.

The Heart for Countering Digital Hate nonprofit, as an example, printed a report in June that claimed X didn’t take motion in opposition to a number of subscribers of Twitter Blue, now known as X Premium, once they posted inflammatory content material.

In August, X sued the CCDH in federal courtroom alleging that the nonprofit illegally obtained information from X utilizing strategies like information scraping to “falsely declare it had statistical help displaying the platform is overwhelmed with dangerous content material.” X’s attorneys alleged that the CCDH’s research have been primarily based upon “flawed methodologies” and precipitated advertisers to cease working promotional campaigns on the messaging service, thus damaging X’s enterprise.

Final week, Greenblatt said in an X put up that he had a “very frank + productive dialog” with newly appointed X CEO Linda Yaccarino on how “to deal with hate successfully on the platform,” including that he “appreciated her reaching out and I am hopeful the service will enhance.”

Greenblatt mentioned he would give each the previous international promoting chief at NBCUniversal and Musk “credit score if the service will get higher… and reserve the appropriate to name them out till it does.”

Shortly after Greenblatt commented about his dialog, #BanTheADL started trending on X as some customers referred to as for the nonprofit to be banned from the messaging platform. As an illustration, Nick Fuentes, a far-right livestreamer who has beforehand made antisemitic feedback, urged his viewers to contribute to the #BanTheADL marketing campaign.

Musk then started partaking with among the anti-ADL posts on X, liking among the feedback and even responding to them.

“ADL has tried very exhausting to strangle X/Twitter,” Musk said, replying to the YouTube streamer Keith Woods, who the ADL has beforehand said has produced antisemitic content material.

“It’s profoundly disturbing that Elon Musk spent the weekend partaking with a extremely poisonous, antisemitic marketing campaign on his platform — a marketing campaign began by an unrepentant bigot that then was closely promoted by people resembling white supremacist Nick Fuentes, Christian nationalist Andrew Torba, conspiracy theorist Alex Jones and others,” Greenblatt mentioned. “Lastly, we noticed the marketing campaign manifest in the true world when masked males marched in Florida on Saturday openly waving flags adorned with swastikas and chanting ‘Ban the ADL.'”

X didn’t instantly reply to CNBC’s request for remark.

Disclosure: NBCUniversal is the mother or father firm of CNBC.

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