Elon Musk has vowed to file what he calls a “thermonuclear lawsuit” against progressive media watchdog Media Matters and others, as the list of companies halting their advertising on his social media platform grows longer.
Musk posted on X, formerly known as Twitter, on Friday night to say:
“Split-second court opens on Monday, X Corp will take thermonuclear action against Media Matters and ALL those who conspired in this fraudulent attack on our company.”
And he added an explainer on why supporting X is defending free speech.
This comes after a pivotal week for the social platform, including:
Musk
On Wednesday, Musk endorsed a post on X/Twitter in which a user wrote: “Jewish communities have been promoting the exact kind of dialectical hate against white people that they claim they want people to stop using against them.” The post promoted the “great replacement theory,” or the claim that Jewish people want to bring undocumented people of color to Western countries to reduce white influence. The convicted killer in the Tree of Life shooting embraced this theory.
“You told the truth,” Musk responded.
Musk later attempted to clarify his position, singling out the Anti-Defamation League as a group that “unfairly attacks the majority of the West, despite the majority of the West supporting the Jewish people and Israel.”
The media is important
Media Matters reported on advertising from major brands appearing alongside pro-Nazi content on the platform. Among those cited were IBM, Apple, Comcast Xfinity, Oracle and Bravo. Media Matters, a progressive watchdog group, followed with a new report this names a greater number of brands whose spots appeared alongside white nationalist content.
Pause from brands
The list of companies that have paused advertising on the platform has grown to include:
Comcast/NBC Universal
Paramount World
Warner Bros. Discovery
The Walt Disney Company
Litter
Lionsgate
White House
On Friday, the White House joined those condemning the amplification of the anti-Semitic trope. “It is unacceptable to repeat the heinous lie behind the most fatal act of anti-Semitism in American history at any time, much less a month after the deadliest day for the Jewish people since the Holocaust,” the White House spokesman said. , Andrew Bates.
Bates was referring to the 2018 Tree of Life synagogue shooting in Pittsburgh and the Oct. 7 Hamas attack on Israel.
Bates added: “We condemn this abhorrent promotion of anti-Semitic and racist hatred in the strongest terms, which goes against our fundamental values as Americans.”
