Musk to file ‘thermonuclear lawsuit’ as advertisers back out from X
text_fields
Elon Musk has said that he would file a "thermonuclear lawsuit" against Media Matters and others after several major US companies suspended their advertisements on his social media platform over concerns about antisemitism.
Earlier this week, the media watchdog Media Matters reported that corporate advertisements from IBM, Apple, Oracle, and Comcast’s Xfinity were appearing alongside antisemitic content, including that praising Adolf Hitler and the Nazis, on Musk's platform.
This resulted in several big names in the technology and media publicly declaring their decision to pull their advertisements. This list included Warner Brothers, Paramount, and Disney.
“The split second court opens on Monday, X Corp will be filing a thermonuclear lawsuit against Media Matters and ALL those who colluded in this fraudulent attack on our company,” Musk said in a post on X, formerly known as Twitter.
Also Read:Sam Altman fired by ChatGPT creator OpenAI, says board
Musk on Wednesday agreed with a post on X that falsely claimed Jewish people were stoking hatred against white people, saying the user, who referenced the “great replacement” conspiracy theory, was speaking “the actual truth”.
“This week Media Matters for America posted a story that completely misrepresented the real experience on X, in another attempt to undermine freedom of speech and mislead advertisers,” a statement posted by Musk said.
“Above everything, including profit, X works to protect the public’s right to free speech. But for speech to be truly free, we must also have the freedom to see or hear things that some people may consider objectionable,” he added.
He did not address the furore surrounding his tweet but has previously refuted claims of being antisemitic. Musk subsequently rejected the findings by Media Matters.
Apple had been one of X’s biggest advertisers and was spending up to $100m (£80m) a year as of November 2022 when Musk bought it, Bloomberg has reported.
Since then, there has been a trend of X advertisers falling, and user numbers declining, while Musk has brought in a paid premium system, claiming it was to target bots on the site.
On Friday, the White House joined the outcry against Musk's tweet, with a statement calling it an “abhorrent promotion of antisemitic and racist hate” that runs against our core values as Americans”.
Referring to the 7 October attacks by Hamas against Israel, the White House spokesperson Andrew Bates said: “It is unacceptable to repeat the hideous lie … one month after the deadliest day for the Jewish people since the Holocaust.”
