OPINION: Musk makes a virtue out of creating a safe space for racists

It is disturbing enough that the atrocities inflicted on Israelis by Hamas terrorists on 7 October inspired a wave of antisemitism on social media, as bigots and hate-mongers pounced on the opportunity to abuse and harass Jewish people.

But the truly astounding (albeit grimly predictable) thing has been the ease with which vicious anti-Jewish hate and conspiracy theories were allowed to overwhelm these platforms – appearing instantaneously on all of our news feeds. It has been inescapable, even for non-Jews, and there was seemingly nothing in place to stop it.

Social media companies – whose platforms were already ill-equipped to deal with rampant antisemitism, and who already had a woeful track record of protecting Jewish people online – have slashed their safety and content moderation teams over the last 18 months in search of so-called ‘efficiencies’. It’s like a city tearing down its flood defences just before the rainy season to save a few pennies.

For years, my organisation, the Center for Countering Digital Hate, has been sounding the alarm on social media companies and the way they prioritise profit over user safety, even in the face of overwhelming evidence that they are harming marginalised and under-threat communities.

But what is happening on X (formerly known as Twitter) goes further.

Elon Musk’s flirtation with the antisemitic ‘Great Replacement’ conspiracy theory last week – when he appeared to endorse the racist trope that Jewish people encourage “hordes of minorities” to “flood” countries inhabited by “whites” – was not a one-off event, but rather the latest in a series of escalating nods and winks to antisemites.

Through his actions and words, Musk gives succor to bigots and antisemites and emboldens them to voice their hatred of Jewish people more openly and fervently.

As well as cutting safety and moderation staff to the bone and disbanding the advisory Trust and Safety Council, one of Musk’s first acts as Twitter’s proprietor was to put up the Bat Signal to previously banned antisemites, bigots and extremists, welcoming them back with open arms. Whether it is Ye (formerly known as Kanye West) or neo-Nazis, Musk has created a safe space for antisemitic actors and has sought to make a virtue of it.

We gave X a full seven days to take action after we initially flagged the offending posts to its moderators using the platforms’ official reporting tools. Of the 146 tweets in our sample that contained unambiguous antisemitism, X only took action against two (1.4 percent).

His platform has also stopped enforcing the rules that led to hate actors being banned in the past. Last week, research produced by my organisation analysed the rate at which X removed clear examples of hate speech that were inspired by the October 7 atrocity and ensuing conflict. Each post in our sample was in clear violation of the platform’s own rules.

We gave X a full seven days to take action after we initially flagged the offending posts to its moderators using the platforms’ official reporting tools. Of the 146 tweets in our sample that contained unambiguous antisemitism, X only took action against two (1.4 percent).

In the last 12 months since he acquired X, Musk’s words and deeds have fallen short of the minimum standard of a fit and proper leader of one of the world’s most influential digital platforms.

His is an appalling record, by anyone’s measure – and it is incumbent on all of us in public life to call it out. So it has been depressing to see Rishi Sunak, the Prime Minister who delivered the Online Safety Act, undercut the effectiveness of that achievement by sucking up to Elon Musk a few weeks ago at a summit that appeared to be organised so he could get a photo op with Elon. Prime Minister Sunak has said he opposes antisemitism. Well, will he condemn Mr Musk then?

Will he demand X do better on antisemitism? Will he follow Disney, the European Commission, Paramount, Warner Bros, and Apple and stop His Majesty’s Government spending on the X platform, for doing so enables Musk’s increasingly rotten behaviour?

The unprecedented levels of online antisemitism we now see will require unprecedented effort, resources, and dedication to fight. The executives at the top of the world’s biggest social media platforms have neither the will nor the capacity to protect all users’ human rights and civil liberties.

It is vital our leaders stand up, therefore, and speak truth to power to defend the rights of all citizens, including Jews, to live lives that are safe, secure, and prosperous.

Imran Ahmed is chief executive and founder of the Center for Countering Digital Hate