--- title: "Elon Musk Says He Has to Sue Jewish Anti-Hate Group to Prove He’s Not Antisemitic" description: "Elon Musk is on a quest to prove that he is not anti-Semitic — and is threatening to sue a well-known Jewish advocacy groups to do so. " date: "2023-09-05" modified: "2023-09-05" authors: - name: "Noor Al-Sibai" job_title: "Senior Staff Writer" link: "https://futurism.com/authors/nooralsibai" url: "https://futurism.com/elon-musk-anti-semitism-adl" categories: - "Elon Musk" - "Future Society" - "The Industrialists" tags: - "antisemitism" - "elon musk" - "twitter" - "X" --- # Elon Musk Says He Has to Sue Jewish Anti-Hate Group to Prove He’s Not Antisemitic ![Elon Musk is on a quest to prove that he is not anti-Semitic — and is threatening to sue a well-known Jewish advocacy groups to do so. ]() *\Image: JOEL SAGET/AFP via Getty Images/Futurism\* X-formerly-Twitter owner Elon Musk is on a quest to prove that he is not antisemitic — and is threatening to sue one of the world's most well-known Jewish advocacy groups to do so. "To clear our platform’s name on the matter of anti-Semitism," [the world's richest man tweeted](), "it looks like we have no choice but to file a defamation lawsuit against the Anti-Defamation League." "Oh the irony!" he added, without evidence of a hint of it. It's a confounding line of reasoning that could represent a desperate, last-ditch effort by Musk to stop the social media company from [hemorrhaging money]() under his questionable leadership. Earlier this year, the Anti-Defamation League (ADL) found that the number of antisemitic posts [soared by more than 61 percent]() following Musk's takeover of the site back in October 2022. Ever since his chaotic acquisition, advertisers have been [fleeing the platform](), causing the company's [revenues to tank](). Meanwhile, Musk has allowed [propaganda]() and [far-right activism]() to surge on X, which has likely only compounded the issue. Now, Musk is looking for a scapegoat — and has chosen the ADL as his next target. The entire debacle began, naturally, with Musk making friends with far-right posters. In this case, one of the main posters in question is Keith Woods, née Keith O'Brien, a white nationalist YouTuber who [once tweeted]() (and then seemingly deleted) that Ben Shapiro had radicalized him "into a raging anti-Semite." Woods appears to be one of the biggest backers of the #BanTheADL hashtag, which as its name suggests is a campaign to ban the anti-hate group on the platform. For [nearly a week]() now, Woods and his [fellow travelers]() have been posting about their issues with the ADL, most of which seem to stem from the non-governmental organization's advocacy being skewed as "[anti-white]()." Once Woods and his acolytes began tagging Musk himself, the X owner jumped into the fray with them. In one such instance, he responded to the YouTuber's claim that "\[InfoWars'\] Alex Jones doesn't want to #BanTheADL because 'they're the most pro-Hitler organization I've ever seen,'" a confusing and non-sensical charge that Musk responded to in kind. "The ADL, because they are so aggressive in their demands to ban social media accounts for even minor infractions, are ironically the biggest generators of anti-Semitism on this platform!" the [billionaire tweeted]() — which is arguably as convoluted as it is conspiratorial. Though Musk did not expound on how suing the ADL would "clear" the social network of charges of anti-Semitism, he did add some context later in the responses to the same tweet — though that context suggests that he's looking to blame the anti-hate group for the company's [staggering advertiser exodus]() since his takeover last fall. The ADL, [Musk claimed](), "would potentially be on the hook for destroying half the value of the company, so roughly $22 billion." "Based on what we’ve heard from advertisers, ADL seems to be responsible for most of our revenue loss," [he continued](). "Giving them maximum benefit of the doubt, I don’t see any scenario where they’re responsible for less than ten percent of the value destruction, so \[around\] $4 billion." "Document discovery of all communications between the ADL and advertisers will tell the full story," Musk added. Over Labor Day weekend, [Musk also tweeted]() that "to be super clear, I’m pro free speech, but against anti-Semitism of any kind." Given all the aforementioned, however, he's not doing a very good job of convincing anyone. **More on Elon:** [*Free Speech Absolutist Elon Musk Has Nothing to Say About Man Sentenced to Death for Tweeting*]() ## Author At Futurism, I've often been drawn to unpacking the narratives that underlie technological, scientific and medical progress, with a special interest in areas of conflict and ambiguity that end up setting agendas and steering the fates of both elites and the hoi polloi. I'm a committed generalist, but I often find myself returning to work involving NASA and the private space sector, the effects of AI on media and society, and the mechanics of the pharmaceutical industry, with a specific focus on the spread of GLP-1 drugs like Ozempic and Wegovy. Prior to Futurism, I worked for publications ranging from Media Matters and Truthdig to Raw Story and Bustle. I'm also the author of "Myspace Scene Queens," a 2024 title in Instar Books' acclaimed "Remember the Internet" series. My work at Futurism has been cited by outlets including the New Yorker, Slate, Nieman Lab, the Verge, the MIT Technology Review, the Sunday Times, and the Daily Beast. I grew up in North Carolina, attended the University of North Carolina at Asheville, and now live in Brooklyn, New York. In my free time, I'm an avid reader and music fan; you can probably find me at a local poetry reading, concert, underground rave, or DJ set. I'm the proud parent of an ineffable orange cat named Mee-Mow. ### Author social links [Bluesky]()