Hate speech has become the only newsworthy trait of Musk’s Twitter
On Twitter two weeks ago, someone started a thread challenging antisemitic people to justify their ridiculous notion that “Hitler was right.” One Nazi sympathizer shared a racist and antisemitic response that boils down to “White Genocide” or “Replacement Theory.” These are hateful conspiracy theories that blame Jewish people for non-white immigrants in the United States, Canada, and Europe. Elon Musk saw that hateful response and replied, “You have said the actual truth.” He would later claim that he was just talking about the Anti-Defamation League, not all Jewish people, as the person he was agreeing with was stating. Few seem to be buying his “explanation.” Combined with yet another report showing that people who follow prolific spreaders of hate speech will see ads from major brands like Apple and Disney next to vile hate speech, and advertisers have fled Twitter.
Advertising was Twitter’s primary, and perhaps only significant, source of revenue. Now, over 100 brands have abandoned the platform, accounting for a revenue loss of as much as $75M. With millions of revenue losses, and few sources of revenue left, Twitter’s a sinking ship. What has Elon Musk done to ease the fears of advertisers, who worry he’s an unhinged leader with antisemitic views and a platform full of hate speech?
He told them to “Go fuck yourself.” He even called out Disney CEO Bob Iger by name.
Yeah, that’ll fix everything.
Another Unhinged Comment
The New York Times has had an interesting relationship with Twitter. After refusing to pay for a Twitter checkmark, as it reduces a tool for verification down to just, “Who’s dumb enough to pay Elon Musk for Twitter” icon, my words, not theirs, it eventually got one back from Musk. Maybe he just wanted to make sure he could still go to events like their 2023 DealBook Summit, happening now. It includes major speakers, like Vice President Kamala Harris, FTC Chair Lina Khan, and CEOs from major companies, like Disney, Warner Bros. Discovery, and, of course, Tesla. That’s why Elon Musk was there. However, questions weren’t limited to Tesla. Twitter, which he acquired just one year ago for $44 billion and is now worth less than half that, is an interesting topic. A company losing that much value in so short of a time all thanks to the work of one man is a fascinating story. And so, we got to see, on stage, how that happened in real time.
Elon had some good comments. For example, he said that agreeing with a neo-Nazi about why “Hitler was right” was “One of the most foolish — if not the most foolish — thing I’ve done on the platform.” That’s true, agreeing with Nazis is foolish! He did say he didn’t mean to further antisemitic goals, and that he’s “quite sorry” for having done so.
How quaint.
Of course, the big news headline was his response to the companies that considered those antisemitic remarks and the hate speech Musk happily allows on the platform unacceptable. To them, he said, “Go fuck yourself.” He told them, “I hope they stop. Don’t advertise.” Again, thinking everything is only about him, accused companies of “blackmail” by standing by the values of not funding antisemitism.
“If somebody is going to try to blackmail me with advertising, blackmail me with money, go fuck yourself. Go fuck yourself. Is that clear? I hope it is.”
– Elon Musk, at the DealBook Summit
Musk, possibly realizing that Disney CEO Bob Iger was present at the conference, followed it up with, “Hey Bob, if you’re in the audience.” Disney was one of the companies, along with Apple and hundreds of others, who left after Elon Musk boosted an antisemitic post by agreeing with it.
Hundreds Leave
Musk, surprisingly, realized that if advertisers don’t return, they’re “going to kill the company.” That’s not much of a threat though. No one cares when Parler died, why would anyone care when Twitter’s hate network falls apart too?
Musk continually called it a “boycott.” He seems to think advertisers are protesting him, blackmailing him, instead of not wanting to be associated with a company whose owner regularly promotes hateful content.
“They’re going to say, Elon, that you killed the company because you said these things and they were inappropriate things and they didn’t feel comfortable on the platform. That’s what they’re going to say.”
– Andrew Ross Sorkin to Elon Musk at the DeelBook Summit
As of now, over 100 brands have left Twitter due to antisemitic content on the platform. The world has seen a rise in antisemitism and Islamophobia since the beginning of the Israel-Hamas war. Now, more than ever, we need to work against the propagation of this hate. The best way to do that is to not fund large propagators of hate. Right now, that’s Twitter. That’s all it—and Elon Musk’s—legacy will be at this point. A network, and a man, so full of hate, they would rather tell those who stand against hate to “go fuck yourself” rather than abandon hate. Hate always loses in the end, and Musk seems content to go down with the ship.
Sources:
- Jon Brodkin, ArsTechnica
- Anna Isaac, The Guardian
- Jacon Kastrenakes and Mia Sato, The Verge
- Ben Lovejoy, 9to5Mac
- Mia Sato, The Verge, [2]