Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu pushed Elon Musk, the billionaire owner of X — formerly Twitter — to prevent antisemitism on his social media platform on Monday.
Netanyahu told Musk he recognizes the billionaire’s free speech commitment but also pressed him to prevent antisemitism and hate speech on the platform during their wide-ranging discussion largely focused on technology. The platform has come under fire recently for allegedly failing to remove antisemitic content. (RELATED: ‘Extra Layer Of Protection’: Elon Musk’s X Is Laying The Groundwork To Censor ‘Harmful’ Election Content)
“I know your commitment to free speech,” Netanyahu told Musk. “I respect that … But I also know your opposition to antisemitism. You’ve spoken about it, tweeted about it. And all I can say is, I hope you find, within the confines of the First Amendment, the ability to stop not only antisemitism, or roll it back as best you can, but any collective hatred of a people that antisemitism represents.”
“I know you’re committed to that,” Netanyahu added. “I hope you succeed in it. It’s not an easy task. But I encourage you and urge you to find a balance. It’s a tough one.”
Musk responded that he is against hateful content and that X will suppress it, despite a report by the Center for Countering Digital Hate (CCDH) alleging that X overwhelmingly does not remove it.
“I’m sort of against attacking any group, doesn’t matter who it is,” Musk responded to Netanyahu. “Obviously I’m against antisemitism. I’m against anti- really anything that promotes hate and conflict.”
X called the assertions in CCDH’s report “misleading” in a post on Friday.
הצטרפו לשידור החי: ראש הממשלה בנימין נתניהו בשיחה עם @elonmusk. https://t.co/rA0sQnFvQB
— ראש ממשלת ישראל (@IsraeliPM_heb) September 18, 2023
“For the X platform, unless it’s interesting, entertaining, engaging, then we will lose users,” Musk said. “People will want to not use our system if they find it to be unpleasant … We’re not gonna promote hate speech. Probably that’s not what people want to hear.”
Musk is also considering suing the Anti-Defamation League to clear the platform of antisemitism allegations.
X did not immediately respond to the Daily Caller News Foundation’s request for comment.
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