Technology

Musk claims outside audits show less antisemitism on X than other platforms

Elon Musk is engaging in a conversation with right-wing commentator Ben Shapiro about anti-Semitism online at the EJA conference at the DoubleTree by Hilton in Krakow, Poland, on January 22, 2023. The conference, organized by the European Jewish Association, is taking place in Krakow in connection with the International Holocaust Remembrance Day. The main topic of the conference is the rise in anti-Semitism, which the association has noted since October 7, amid the conflict in Palestine. On the second day, delegations are planning to visit the Auschwitz Concentration Camp and hold a memorial ceremony. (Photo by Klaudia Radecka/NurPhoto via Getty Images)

Elon Musk claimed Monday that outside audits have shown that X, the platform formerly known as Twitter, has “the least amount of antisemitism” compared to other social media platforms.

“The outside audits that we’ve had done, at the ones that we’ve had done, show that there is the least amount of antisemitism on X, if you look at all the other social apps,” Musk said during a discussion with conservative pundit Ben Shapiro at the European Jewish Association (EJA) conference in Krakow, Poland.

The X owner did not offer any additional information about the outside audits or their results.

Musk made an appearance at the conference after visiting the site of the Auschwitz-Birkenau death camp in Oswiecim, Poland, earlier Monday. 

Since purchasing the platform then known as Twitter in October 2022, Musk has repeatedly been accused of failing to crack down on antisemitism on the social media site and has occasionally faced accusations of antisemitism himself.

In late November, Musk sparked backlash when he appeared to endorse an antisemitic conspiracy theory in a post on X. 

The controversy was quickly followed by a series of reports from the liberal watchdog Media Matters for America, finding that ads for mainstream brands had been placed next to pro-Nazi and white nationalist content on the platform.

Several major advertisers — including Disney, Apple, IBM, Comcast, Lionsgate, Warner Bros. Discovery, Sony Pictures and Paramount — halted spending on X as a result. Musk responded by telling advertisers to “go f‑‑‑ yourself.”