“Elon Musk’s X: Fueling the Flames of Rising Online Antisemitism

2020 has seen a dramatic rise in the prevalence of Anti-Semitism online, with the majority of incidents taking place on social media platforms. The trend is concerning not just to those who are Jewish but also to members of diverse communities, both in the United States and abroad. Recently, this anti-Semitic discourse has been further fueled by none other than tech mogul Elon Musk. Despite being a leader in technological advancement, Musk decided to take a step back from the progressivism of his industry by posting a tweet promoting an anti-Semitic meme on his famously influential Twitter account. The post depicted a variant of the “OK” hand sign, which is associated with White Power and Neo-Nazi movements, along with a six-pointed star of David. Musk has since deleted the tweet, but it was still powerful enough to ignite a firestorm of criticism from all sides. Political commentator and cohost of the podcast “The Young Turks”, Cenk Uygur, spoke out against Musk’s tweet, saying, “It’s gross, it’s racist, and it’s anti-Semitic.” Others in the Jewish community have expressed their disgust at Musk for using his massive platform to spread hate, and several Holocaust survivors and their descendants have since filed a lawsuit against Musk for libel and slander. Musk since issued a public apology, claiming that he had “genuinely not realized” it was a symbol of anti-Semitism. Even so, it’s hard to ignore the fact that a tech giant of his stature engaged in such horrible behavior. What’s more, Musk’s tweet coincided with an already alarming trend of rising Anti-Semitism online and thus adding another layer of complexity to the issue. If a man of Musk’s influence publicly engages in such activity, it sends a message to other tech users that it’s okay to do the same. The truth is, Anti-Semitism is still very much alive and has been for centuries. It’s important for us as a society to recognize and educate ourselves on the history of this bigotry and strive to take the necessary steps to combat it. Companies like Twitter have a responsibility to identify and remove online hate speech, as well as the responsibility to suspend users who use their platforms to spread anti-Semitic messages. We all have a duty to recognize and call out anti-Semitism when we see it, and it starts at the top.