A still from a since-deleted X/Twitter ad campaign in which a tweet criticizing Elon Musk for “blaming it all on the Jews” can be seen, Sept. 21, 2023. (Screenshot via Twitter)

(JTA) – The social media platform X, formerly known as Twitter, is in the midst of a massive rebranding campaign. But an ad it posted this week briefly showcased an accusation made by some of owner Elon Musk’s biggest critics.

Released Thursday, the two-minute spot begins with a stream of user posts alongside the text “You’ve been here for news, sports and culture.” One of the visible posts, seen for a fraction of a second, is that of a critic of Musk, the site’s owner.

“Twitter’s value has fallen by at least 50%, and Elon is blaming it all on the Jews,” the post said.

Forwarding the News

Thoughtful, balanced reporting from the Forward and around the web, bringing you updated news and analysis each day.

Terms(Required)

I agree to the Forward's Terms of Service and Privacy Policy

Email(Required)

The post, which came from a popular left-leaning account called Right Wing Cope, included a screenshot of one of several recent Musk tweets in which the billionaire tech mogul attacked the Anti-Defamation League.

Musk has accused the Jewish antisemitism watchdog of causing massive financial loss to the site because it called for advertisers to pause spending on the platform after Musk acquired it and removed guardrails against hate speech. In his post that can be seen in the ad, Musk claims the ADL “would potentially be on the hook for destroying half the value of the company.” The post was part of a series of tweets in which Musk threatened to sue the ADL for his company’s lost revenue and interacted with white supremacist accounts criticizing the group.

Musk himself has insisted that he is “pro free speech, but against anti-Semitism of any kind,” and hosted Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu for a live chat earlier this week, during which Netanyahu praised his stated commitment to fighting antisemitism and encouraged him to continue fighting anti-Jewish bigotry.

X took down the ad hours after its release, prompting further snark from Right Wing Cope and others. It later uploaded a new version without the post that was critical of Musk.

“X took down an entire ad campaign because an editor who either hates their boss or was really negligent accidentally included one of my tweets calling Elon Musk antisemitic,” Right Wing Cope tweeted afterwards.

anyway here it is for posterity pic.twitter.com/vyxIsbjmyw

— Molly White (@molly0xFFF) September 21, 2023

This article originally appeared on JTA.org.

The Forward is free to read, but it isn’t free to produce

I hope you appreciated this article. Before you go, I’d like to ask you to please support the Forward.

Now more than ever, American Jews need independent news they can trust, with reporting driven by truth, not ideology. We serve you, not any ideological agenda.

At a time when other newsrooms are closing or cutting back, the Forward has removed its paywall and invested additional resources to report on the ground from Israel and around the U.S. on the impact of the war, rising antisemitism and polarized discourse.

Readers like you make it all possible. Support our work by becoming a Forward Member and connect with our journalism and your community.

This is a great time to support independent Jewish journalism you rely on. Make a gift today!

—  Rachel Fishman Feddersen, Publisher and CEO

Support our mission to tell the Jewish story fully and fairly.

$90 $180

$360

Other amount