In response to allegations of increased antisemitic hate speech on social media platform X, formerly Twitter, thousands of Christians have signed a petition denouncing Elon Musk as they call on corporate advertisers to take action against him.
In its petition posted on Friday, Faithful America, an organization of Christians supporting social justice causes while opposing "Christian nationalism," wrote that X has become a breeding ground for antisemitism and represents "one of the largest dangers to Jews in years." The organization warns that if a serious change does not happen, it could lead to potential violence against the Jewish community. It gave the petition page the title "Christians condemn Elon Musk's antisemitism."
"As members of the Christian organization Faithful America, we recognize the serious threat posed by Elon Musk's dangerous attacks on ADL, we condemn the antisemitism that he has chosen to let spread on his platform, and we echo the statement from rabbis, academics, and leaders of Jewish organizations asking advertisers to stop doing business with X immediately," Faithful America's petition states.
As of Sunday afternoon, the petition has garnered over 9,500 signatures of the intended goal of 10,000.
According to research by the Center for Countering Digital Hate (CCDH), published on September 13, a sample of 300 posts from 100 accounts, with three posts taken from each account, found that X continues to host nearly 86 percent of reported posts for hate speech. The posts included promoting and glorifying antisemitism, anti-Black racism, neo-Nazism, white supremacy and/or other racism.
One week after the posts were reported to moderators on August 30 and 31, the CCDH wrote that researchers found X had left up 259 of 300 posts. As of publication of the research, 90 of 100 accounts also remained active.
Separate research by the Institute for Strategic Dialogue (ISD), a nonpartisan think tank, and CASM Technology Research found what they called a "major and sustained spike" in antisemitic posts since the takeover by Musk in October 2022. Analysts detected 325,739 English-language antisemitic tweets in the nine months from June 2022 to February 2023, with the weekly average increasing by 106 percent (from 6,204 to 12,762), when comparing the three months before and after Musk's acquisition.
Faithful American's latest petition comes after Musk, who took over the social media platform in 2022, has openly engaged in criticizing the Anti-Defamation League (ADL), a Jewish organization dedicated to combating antisemitism and extremism.
In a series of posts on X last month, Musk repeatedly blamed the ADL for a 60 percent decline in the platform's revenue, alleging a coordinated effort by the group to push advertisers away.
"Since the acquisition, The ADL has been trying to kill this platform by falsely accusing it & me of being anti-Semitic," Musk wrote. "To clear our platform's name on the matter of anti-Semitism, it looks like we have no choice but to file a defamation lawsuit against the Anti-Defamation League ... oh the irony!"
However, Musk has stated on X that he is against antisemitism by writing, "To be super clear, I'm pro free speech, but against anti-Semitism of any kind."
In addition, Musk has repeatedly engaged with antisemitic accounts on X, while his allegations have also led to an X hashtag, #BanTheADL.
Newsweek has reached out to Musk and Faithful America via email for comment.
"The tech billionaire has amplified anti-ADL hashtags started by white nationalists. He's even threatened to sue the organization for daring to honestly report about the hatred his company is bringing into the American mainstream—ridiculously blaming it for Twitter/X's loss of advertising revenue," Faithful America added in its Friday petition.
Although Faithful America admits Christians have been complicit in perpetuating antisemitism throughout history, the organization maintains the need for change as it urges the Christian community and others to condemn Musk.
Update, 10/02/23, 7:30 a.m. ET: This article was updated with additional information. The headline was also amended.
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