ADL rips Musk for promoting ‘Ban the ADL’ campaign

The Anti-Defamation League called out tech mogul Elon Musk this week for supporting a movement to ban the civil rights organization.

The ADL’s CEO and national director, Jonathan Greenblatt, issued a statement Tuesday countering Mr. Musk’s weekend posts on X, formerly Twitter. 

“It is profoundly disturbing that Elon Musk spent the weekend engaging with a highly toxic, antisemitic campaign on his platform — a campaign started by an unrepentant bigot that then was heavily promoted by individuals such as white supremacist Nick Fuentes, Christian nationalist Andrew Torba, conspiracy theorist Alex Jones and others,” he wrote. 

Mr. Musk spent the past few days openly asking if the ADL should be banned from X. The billionaire boosted several conservative accounts that posted #BanTheADL. Mr. Musk even floated the idea of suing the ADL. 

“To clear our platform’s name on the matter of antisemitism, it looks like we have no choice but to file a defamation lawsuit against the Anti-Defamation League … oh the irony,” he wrote Monday. 

Mr. Musk’s posts come after dozens of Nazis marched through the streets of Orlando, Florida, waving flags with “Ban the ADL” on them. 

Mr. Greenblatt says this shows the danger of the situation on X.

“Musk is engaging with and elevating these antisemites at a time when ADL is tracking a surge of bomb threats and swatting attacks of synagogues and Jewish institutions, dramatic levels of antisemitic propaganda being littered throughout Jewish and non-Jewish residential communities, and extremists marching openly through the streets in Nazi gear,” he wrote.

Stephen Miller, a former Trump White House adviser, wrote, “Speaking as a Jew: ADL is NOT a Jewish organization. It is an ultra-left activist organization that advocates for radical transgenderism, border erasure, police dismantlement and the suppression of free speech. To achieve its goals, the organization employs tactics such as rank slander, bullying and character assassination.”

This week’s battle comes as Mr. Musk tries to defend his site from accusations of not doing enough to combat antisemitism.

X recently sued the Center for Countering Digital Hate for reporting on a rise in antisemitism on the social media platform. Mr. Musk has accused the watchdog group of trying to hurt free expression and the site’s advertising revenue. He has made similar claims about the ADL, which has echoed the claims of the CCDH.