Elon Musk blames ADL's accusations of anti-Semitism for 60% drop in X's revenue, threatens defamation suit

The feud between X (formerly Twitter) and the Anti-Defamation League (ADL) doesn’t seem to be dying anytime soon. Elon Musk has insinuated the possibility of a defamation suit against ADL. He accused ADL of fraudulent claims of anti-Semitism, which he believes have damaged his platform’s reputation and resulted in a 60 per cent drop in advertising revenue. On Monday, Musk took to X to state his position. “To clear our platform’s name on the matter of anti-Semitism, it looks like we have no choice but to file a defamation lawsuit against the Anti-Defamation League,” he said.

Musk, who purchased Twitter for $44 billion last year, attributed the 60 per cent decrease in advertising revenue to the ADL’s alleged efforts to dissuade advertisers from using the platform by falsely linking it and its new owner to anti-Semitism. In a post, Musk asserted that the ADL’s actions nearly succeeded in “killing X/Twitter.”

These remarks from Musk follow his recent suggestion to poll X users on whether to ban the ADL from his platform. This idea surfaced in response to a message from conservative Dutch activist Eva Vlaardingerbroek, who expressed frustration with what she perceived as excessive labelling of content as “hateful/racist/dangerous/far-right” and claimed that the ADL’s intimidation tactics had lost their influence. The campaign to ban ADL from X began after the group’s leader, Jonathan Greenblatt, held discussions with X CEO Linda Yaccarino regarding concerns over “rampant hate speech” on the platform. The ADL has accused X of failing to enforce its content moderation policies since Musk assumed ownership. Musk has consistently emphasized his commitment to making X a platform that upholds free speech, particularly in light of what he perceives as censorship targeting conservative voices on other platforms. He clarified that he is “against anti-Semitism of any kind” and humorously remarked that if he succeeds in the lawsuit, he would insist that the ADL drop the “anti” part of its name, effectively renaming it the “Defamation League.” It’s worth noting that the ADL has faced defamation lawsuits in the past. In 2000, a Colorado couple won a $10.5 million verdict against the organization for false allegations, and in 2019, the ADL settled a suit related to illegal spying accusations. Additionally, in 2020, cartoonist Ben Garrison sued the ADL for defamation, claiming that the group falsely portrayed him as anti-Semitic and racist. Established over a century ago with the primary aim of combating attacks on Jews, the ADL now characterizes itself as the “leading anti-hate organization in the world.” Nevertheless, the group has faced criticism in recent years for promoting critical race theory and other left-leaning ideologies. The escalating conflict between Musk and the ADL continues to draw attention as the legal battle looms on the horizon.