Amid row over antisemitic post, Musk cites "free speech"

SAN FRANCISCO: Amid the row over endorsing 'anti-semitic' post on X, the platform owner and Tesla CEO Elon Musk has said that social media platform X will file a "thermonuclear lawsuit" against the media watchdog 'Media Matters' alleging that it "completely misrepresented the real user experience" and "undermined free speech". This comes after Musk's endorsement of the post on X led to heavy backlash and several advertisers like Apple and Disney cut off their spending on the microblogging site.

"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 posted on X (formerly Twitter).

"Their board, their donors, their network of dark money, all of them...," he added.

Disney, Warner Bros Discovery and Comcast, Lions Gate Entertainment and Paramount Global said on Friday they were also pausing their ads on X, CNN reported.

The Tesla CEO said that X platform works to "protect the right to free speech" and for that one must "see or hear" things that are considered "objectionable" and one must make up their own minds about "what to read, watch, or listen to". He further accused Media Matters and other media outlets of "undermining" freedom of expression as they perceive it as a threat to their "ideological narrative".

"X will protect the public's right to free expression. We will not allow agenda-driven activists, or even our own profits, to deter our vision. Everyone has a choice on X. User and brand control on X is superior to a year ago. Data wins over allegations. Media Matters does not reflect the user experience on X," Musk stated.

Earlier, Musk agreed with a post that claimed that Jewish people who are facing antisemitism amid the Israel-Hamas war are pushing the "exact kind of dialectical hatred against whites that they claim to want people to stop using against them" and supporting the immigration of "hordes of minorities."

To this post, Musk responded, "You have said the actual truth." Musk's remarks were also condemned by the White House for boosting the anti-Jewish conspiracy theory, calling it "unacceptable," The New York Times reported.

In a statement, White House spokesperson Andrew Bates said that it was "unacceptable to repeat the hideous lie behind the most fatal act of antisemitism in American history at any time, let alone one month after the deadliest day for the Jewish people since the Holocaust."