After Elon Musk performed two Nazi salutes at Donald Trump’s inauguration, made offensive Holocaust jokes, and supported Germany’s far-right political party, Jewish leaders are urging advertisers to sever ties with Musk’s troubled social media platform, X (formerly Twitter). According to The Washington Post, over 160 rabbis and activists have signed an open letter calling Musk an “urgent danger to Jews” and one of the “leading purveyors of antisemitism in the world.”
The letter emphasizes the grave risk of combining Musk’s vast political power with his social media platform, which has been used to spread hate. “When the world’s richest man combines political power with a platform that can mobilize hate, the danger becomes immediate and lethal,” the letter states. “We face a stark choice: stand up now or watch as hate spreads unchecked.”
Musk’s embrace of white supremacist and antisemitic views, which have been amplified on his social media platform, is a central concern of the letter.
This isn’t the first time Musk has faced backlash for his controversial behavior. In 2023, Jewish leaders warned advertisers about Musk’s antisemitism after he referred to a deeply hateful tweet as “the actual truth.” Musk also threatened a defamation lawsuit against the Anti-Defamation League (ADL) but never followed through, claiming without evidence that the ADL was responsible for a 60 percent drop in X’s ad sales.
Under Musk’s leadership, research has shown that X has seen a sharp increase in hate speech and antisemitism, with little to no content moderation.
Advertisers, who are crucial to the platform’s revenue, have had a turbulent relationship with X. Many brands returned to the platform last fall despite the appearance of ads alongside posts celebrating Adolf Hitler and other hate speech.
However, Musk has admitted that X’s financial performance is stagnating. In a leaked email from January, Musk acknowledged, “Our user growth is stagnant, revenue is unimpressive, and we’re barely breaking even.”
Jewish leaders are seizing the moment to pressure advertisers. In their latest letter, they urged major companies like Google, Amazon, and the ADL to withdraw their ads, noting that X’s financial struggles show that the pressure is having an impact.
Despite Musk’s wealth and influence, it appears his platform’s reputation for spreading hatred is beginning to take a toll. Advertisers will ultimately decide whether they can continue supporting a platform associated with racism and conspiracy theories.
