Elon Musk ‘to make shock visit to Israel to meet Netanyahu next week’ after furious row over ‘anti-Semitism on X site’
ELON Musk is due to visit Israel next week to meet with PM Netanyahu after explosive rows about anti-Semitic content on X/Twitter.
The tech boss has come under fire for failing to tackle hate speech on the platform, as well as sharing anti-Semitic content himself.
Israeli officials have also slammed Musk for offering help to international aid organisations working in Gaza.
He even sued a left-leaning watchdog over criticism of the X/Twitter‘s handling of hate speech on the platform.
And research from the Center for Countering Digital Hate (CCDH) found 200 posts on the platform which they deemed antisemitic, Islamophobic or anti-Palestinian.
They found that 196 of the posts were allowed to stay up on the site.
Some of the offensive posts are to graphic to share.
On November 15 the Tesla boss responded to someone on X who had posted about a version of the racist “great replacement theory”.
The offensive far-right conspiracy theory states that Jewish people post a threat to non-Jewish people.
The hateful rhetoric has sometimes been at the heart of anti-Semitic violence around the globe – including a deadly shooting in Pittsburgh in 2018.
Musk’s response read: “You have said the actual truth”.
Several huge companies pulled their advertising from the platform within a matter of hours, including Apple, Disney and Lionsgate.
And a White House spokesperson accused Musk of repeating “the hideous lie behind the most fatal act of antisemitism in American history”.
The tech giant denied antisemitism, claiming his comments referred just to groups like the Anti-Defamation League, a Jewish anti-hate monitor, and not all Jewish people.
He is set to visit towns near the Gaza border that were attacked by Hamas during his trip, according to N12.
Last month reports claimed that the besieged Gaza Strip had lost internet and communication with the rest of the world as Israel continued to pummel the enclave in its fight against Hamas.
On October 28 Musk stated that SpaceX-owned internet firm, Starlink, would help get internet connectivity to charities and aid organisations in Gaza.
This sparked outrage from Israeli officials, and prompted minister Shlomo Karhi to warn Musk that Israel would block any such attempt.
Twitter/X is not the only social media platform to come under fire for hate speech in recent weeks.
TikTok was blasted as a breeding ground for hate after a rant by Osama Bin Laden went viral.
Jewish content creators and celebrities held a meeting with app bosses to discuss the harmful content on the site.