As Jewish leaders of all backgrounds, current and former leaders of Jewish organizations, artists, and activists from all over the country, we have watched in horror as a new stage in antisemitic discourse has spread like wildfire on one of America’s largest social media networks. All of this has been facilitated and enabled by its owner: Elon Musk.

We are speaking of course of X (formerly Twitter), which since his takeover has become a breeding ground for some of the most dangerous antisemitic discourse in America. It has made fringe figures mainstream, spread conspiracy theories that endanger Jews, reinstated neo-Nazis and other antisemites, and destroyed the content moderation that once kept things like Holocaust denial and hate speech minimized.

Just as bad, Musk has himself engaged in antisemitism and promoted other antisemites to his more than 155 million followers. We are alarmed by his targeting of the ADL: not because of our views of the organization (we represent a wide range of views, including some who fundamentally oppose the ADL as well as staunch supporters), but because of the way he has used the organization as a very clear stand in for an antisemitic representation of Jewish power.

But his behavior has a long history going back to his purchase of Twitter. The list is long, but some of the most egregious examples include:

His taking part in the #BanTheADL hashtag, a campaign that was started by neo-Nazi figures like Nick Fuentes. His first engagement with the campaign was with another neo-Nazi, Keith Woods.

Spreading overt antisemitism, such as the false idea that “65% of Jewish college students support censorship.”

Repeatedly engaging with and promoting antisemitic accounts.

Engaging in antisemitic conspiracy theories, such as linking George Soros with the Rothschilds as well as the Great Replacement conspiracy theory.

Reinstating some of the most vicious antisemites in America and beyond, including Andrew Anglin (founder of The Daily Stormer, one of the largest neo-Nazi publications in America) and David Icke (popularizer of the Jews as lizard people conspiracy theory).

The result: antisemitic discourse has doubled on X. And since the measurements were taken before Musk’s recent outbursts, it’s likely that number has continued to rise.

In short, X has become a breeding ground for antisemitism and represents one of the largest dangers to Jews in years. If something does not change, we know what will happen: hate speech and radicalization are always the precursor to violence.

We are deeply disappointed in the failure of media organizations and others in telling this story. Often, his claims about the ADL and other conspiracy theories are taken at face value. The context of his antisemitism is practically ignored. His history and the danger he presents are, in essence, whitewashed. That needs to end. We are here to tell the story others have ignored.

Finally, we call on all companies and governmental organizations engaged in business with Musk to end their relationships with his various companies. Partnering with a man who spreads neo-Nazi ideology should be the exact opposite of what they stand for.

In particular, we call on:

Disney, Apple, Amazon, and other large advertisers to stop funding X through their ad spend.

Apple and Google to remove X from their respective app stores, per their own rules.

Elon Musk has shown a refusal to back down from the danger he poses to Jews and other minorities and vulnerable communities. Appealing to him directly, as the ADL and others have, has been an abject failure. Outside pressure that hits him where it hurts is the only effective measure.  Not doing so will mean the further spread of extremism and antisemitism. Those don’t just threaten Jews: they threaten a free society and all those affected by the conspiracy theories tied to antisemitism.

The Letter 2

It has been a month since the XOutHate coalition of 100 Jewish leaders, rabbis, academics, and artists came together to call for major companies like Apple and Amazon to stop advertising on X, formerly known as Twitter. Since then, 61 more leaders have added their names.

Now, after a brutal attack in Israel and a war in Gaza rages, we are seeing the results of X’s abysmal lack of moderation combined with its owner's own engagement with antisemitic material.

On X, antisemitism has spiked enormously, with little to no functions put into place to reign it in:

1. There has been a massive increase in praise for Hitler and the Holocaust, including a 300% increase in the use of the hashtag #hitlerwasright.

2. General antisemitism has spiked as well, with phrases like “Jews killed Jesus” rising 1000%.

3. Misinformation about the war has spread massively on X, with blue checks (those who are paying subscribers) being by far the biggest sources of misinformation. Since these accounts make money from popular posts, this essentially means that this misinformation has become monetized.

4. Hamas propaganda has been shared and not removed. It was seen by millions. And since ads were shown in the replies to these tweets, X is making money from the propaganda.

5. Elon Musk himself recommended two accounts known for spreading misinformation. One of them has a history of antisemitism, including spreading antisemitic conspiracy theories and a reply which said “go worship a jew lil bro.”

These issues are not minor. They increase the chance of violence against Jews. They allow bad actors to take advantage of the chaos. They are taken advantage of by hate groups to increase recruitment.

We have also seen the horrific results of increased hate speech as it has risen towards Muslims and Palestinians as well, leading to the heartbreaking stabbing of a six year old Palestinian-American child in Illinois.

In moments like these more than ever, vulnerable communities are endangered by the rise of hate speech online. X and Elon Musk have failed this test on an epic level.

In response, we again reaffirm our original calls for:

Disney, Apple, Amazon, and other large advertisers to stop funding X through their ad spend.

Apple and Google to remove X from their respective app stores, per their own rules.

As Musk’s recent behavior has shown, he is unlikely to change his behavior without an impact on his bottom line.

We plan to continue our call on advertisers and app stores as long as the danger X represents to Jews in America and beyond continues.

Elon Musk is spreading the kind of antisemitism that leads to massacres. And advertisers are funding the platform that allows him to spread his ideology to hundreds of millions people.

Musk has gone from spreading antisemitic conspiracy theories to doubling down on his overt antisemitism. Yesterday, he agreed with an antisemitic tweet that claimed, “Jewish communties (sic) have been pushing the exact kind of dialectical hatred against whites that they claim to want people to stop using against them.” This was in response to another tweet which asked people to justify their belief that “Hitler was right.”

The tweet he agreed with was part of his ongoing support for the Great Replacement conspiracy theory. Worse, it was implicit support for Nazism. This ideology led to the Tree of Life and Poway synagogue massacres. Doing so on a site that is already rife with antisemitism directly endangers Jews.

None of this is surprising: Musk has been spreading antisemitism now for years. What is surprising is how many tech companies and leaders are still willing to do business with him. Tim Cook, CEO of Apple, has doubled down on his support for Elon Musk. Google has deepened its relationship with X by partnering with them on ads.

It has been two months since we originally put out our call for large advertisers like Apple, Google, Amazon, and Disney to stop funneling money onto X as antisemitism explodes on the platform. Nothing has changed. Except for the danger Jews are in.

We and many others have already documented the massive rise of antisemitism and Islamophobia that occurred since Musk took over the platform and has since risen exponentially after the October 7th Hamas attacks and ensuing war in Gaza. This has correlated with the real world incidents spreading around the country, from vandalism to violence.

Make no mistake: Elon Musk is not only powerful because of his own riches. It is because these companies and leaders empower him. In so doing, they are participants in mainstreaming hate that leads to murders.

We again reaffirm our original calls for:

1. Disney, Apple, Amazon, and other large advertisers to stop funding X through their ad spend.

2. Apple and Google to remove X from their respective app stores, per their own rules.

We plan to continue our call on advertisers and app stores as long as the danger X represents to Jews in America and beyond continues.

Since these companies have refused to address our concerns, we also call on supporters to contact these companies directly.

You can do so here:

Google

Apple

Disney

You can also use their comment sections and replies to post our letter. Do not let them escape what they are doing.