Elon Musk tweet: what did he say in antisemitic 'actual truth' X post, as advertisers leave amid antisemitism

Billionaire X owner Elon Musk has sparked an outcry this week with tweets responding to a user who accused Jews of hating white people. “You have said the actual truth,” Mr Musk tweeted in a reply Wednesday (15 November).

Several major companies - including Apple, Disney and IBM - have since halted advertising on X, citing a surge in antisemitism on the platform previously known as Twitter, and Musk's propagation of an antisemitic stereotype.

The boycott first gained momentum following a US pressure group's investigation that revealed advertisements had appeared alongside pro-Nazi content on X.

Media Matters for America said ads from prominent companies had been displayed next to posts containing Hitler quotes, praise for the Nazis and Holocaust denial.

Tech firm IBM, the latest high-profile company to pull advertising from X, said: "IBM has zero tolerance for hate speech and discrimination and we have immediately suspended all advertising on X while we investigate this entirely unacceptable situation.”

The European Union’s executive branch said separately on Friday (17 November) that it is pausing its advertising on X and other social media platforms because of an “alarming increase in disinformation and hate speech” in recent weeks.

Separately, a spokesperson for entertainment company Lionsgate confirmed on Friday afternoon that the entertainment company had also suspended advertising on X.

Musk has faced accusations of tolerating antisemitic messages on the platform since purchasing it last year, and the content on X has gained increased scrutiny since the war between Israel and Hamas began.

A spokesperson from X told the BBC that the company doesn't intentionally position brands "next to this kind of content" and that it is committed to combating antisemitism.

CEO Linda Yaccarino, who was was hired by Musk to rebuild ties with advertisers who fled after he took over, said in a tweet: “X’s point of view has always been very clear that discrimination by everyone should STOP across the board – I think that’s something we can and should all agree on.”

"When it comes to this platform – X has also been extremely clear about our efforts to combat antisemitism and discrimination. There’s no place for it anywhere in the world – it’s ugly and wrong. Full stop,” Yaccarino said.

The accounts that Media Matters found posting antisemitic material will no longer be monetisable and the specific posts will be labelled “sensitive media”, according to a statement from X on Friday. Still, Mr Musk decried Media Matters as “an evil organisation”.

The head of the Anti-Defamation League also hit back at Mr Musk’s tweets this week, in the latest clash between the prominent Jewish civil rights organisation and the billionaire businessman.

“At a time when antisemitism is exploding in America and surging around the world, it is indisputably dangerous to use one’s influence to validate and promote antisemitic theories,” ADL chief executive Jonathan Greenblatt said on X.

Musk also tweeted this week that he was “deeply offended by ADL’s messaging and any other groups who push de facto anti-white racism or anti-Asian racism or racism of any kind”.

The group has previously accused Mr Musk of allowing antisemitism and hate speech to spread on the platform and amplifying the messages of neo-Nazis and white supremacists who want to ban the ADL.