Tesla CEO Elon Musk attended a tour of the Auschwitz focus camp on Monday, as he defended his social media platform X (previously generally known as Twitter) towards accusations of anti-Semitism.
The European Jewish Association mentioned Musk laid a wreath and took part in a memorial service on the former Nazi dying camp alongside EJA chairman, Rabbi Menachem Margolin.
“It was incredibly moving and deeply sad and tragic that humans could do this to other humans… It hits you much more in the heart when you see it in person,” Musk mentioned at a convention hosted by the EJA in close by Krakow, southern Poland.
Musk apologized in November after responding to “the actual truth” to a submit on X, the previous Twitter, that was criticized as echoing a white supremacist conspiracy idea about Jews. His gesture prompted some corporations to pause adverts on the platform.
The tech tycoon has additionally confronted accusations of a proliferation of hate speech on X, since his $44-billion takeover of the social media web site in October 2022.
At the occasion on Monday, Musk defended his firm.
“The outside audits that we’ve had done … show that there is the least amount of anti-Semitism on X, if you look at all the other social apps,” he mentioned whereas talking on a panel with U.S. right-wing political commentator Ben Shapiro.
The symposium noticed senior political figures from European nations meet “to discuss and find solutions to the astronomical rises in anti-Semitism affecting Europe,” the EJA mentioned.
“This troubling trend” had been escalating since Oct. 7, mentioned the affiliation.
The symposium got here shortly earlier than the 79th anniversary of the liberation of Auschwitz on Jan. 27, a date that has turn out to be Holocaust Memorial Day.
One million European Jews died on the camp constructed by Nazi Germany in occupied Poland between 1940 and 1945, together with greater than 100,000 non-Jews.
‘Pro-Semitic’
Margolin invited Musk to go to Auschwitz throughout a dwell broadcast on X in September, saying it could make “a very strong statement” that might contribute to “Holocaust awareness and the struggle to combat anti-Semitism.”
Musk agreed that it could possibly be “helpful… as an example to others.”
During the dialogue, Musk described himself as “aspirationally Jewish” and mentioned he had attended Hebrew pre-school.
“It’s absurd to be accused of something when all the evidence points the other direction and my entire life story is in fact pro-semitic,” he added on the time.
Musk has threatened to file go well with towards the Anti-Defamation League, a Jewish advocacy group, over its claims that problematic and racist speech has soared on X since his takeover.
X Corp can be at present suing the non-profit Media Matters on the grounds that it has pushed away advertisers by portraying the location as rife with anti-Semitic content material.
‘Dumbest submit ever’
The submit endorsed by Musk in November mentioned that Jewish communities advocated a “dialectical hatred against whites.”
Musk’s endorsement prompted a flood of exits from X of main advertisers and the White House accused him of “abhorrent promotion” of anti-Semitism.
The social media titan later apologized for what he known as “literally the worst and dumbest post that I’ve ever done.”
He mentioned it had been misinterpreted and that he had sought to make clear the comment in subsequent posts to the thread.
After the controversy, the Tesla and SpaceX tycoon visited Israel however mentioned the journey had been deliberate earlier and was not an “apology tour.”
Israel’s President Isaac Herzog instructed the tech mogul he has “a huge role to play” to fight anti-Semitism.
“We need to fight it together because on the platforms which you lead, unfortunately, there’s a harboring of a lot of… anti-Semitism,” Herzog mentioned.
Source: www.dailysabah.com