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Elon Musk blames Jewish defence group for X’s ad sales slump

By Sebastian Tong

New York: Elon Musk is blaming the Anti-Defamation League for a slump in US advertising revenue on X, the social media platform formerly known as Twitter.

Ad sales are still down 60 per cent “primarily due to pressure on advertisers” mounted by the ADL, Musk said in a series of posts on Monday.

Elon Musk, chief executive officer of X.

Elon Musk, chief executive officer of X.Credit: Bloomberg

The non-profit organisation has been “trying to kill” the platform since he bought it last year, by “falsely accusing” it and him of being antisemitic, he said, adding that legal action was one possible option if it persisted with its accusations.

Musk said he was “pro free speech” but against antisemitism “of any kind”.

The ADL has said that reports of harassment and extremist content on the platform have spiked since Musk’s takeover.

While X no longer needs to bring US advertising revenue back to prior levels in order to survive, it “would be nice” to see the numbers bounce back, Musk added in another post.

He emphasised the need for X to be a public forum for all and suggested that the ADL express its demands openly and explicitly.

“In my opinion, they are excessive, but perhaps the public will agree with them,” Musk said.

Bloomberg

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Original URL: https://www.theage.com.au/link/follow-20170101-p5e20d