ADL Folds, Agrees To Advertise On X

Almost exactly a month to the date of Elon Musk threatening to file a defamation lawsuit against the Anti-Defamation League (ADL), it appears the advocacy group has had a change of mind.

ADL alleged Mr Musk has failed to clamp down on hate speech on the social media platform since his takeover last year, allowing disinformation to proliferate – something Mr Musk strongly denies.

Our US advertising revenue is still down 60%, primarily due to pressure on advertisers by @ADL (that’s what advertisers tell us), so they almost succeeded in killing X/Twitter!

— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) September 4, 2023

Which left Musk with no choice…

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!

— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) September 4, 2023

A month has passed and ADL has been quiet – even with the Canadian government cheering on an actual nazi.

But now, perhaps with the threat of discovery looming (and fighting a legal battle against the man with the deepest pockets in the world), ADL has made the decision to back down from the ‘Twitter is full of hate and no one should advertise there’ narrative to a ‘well, it’s not that bad and we are going to advertise to help save the world’ narrative.

ADL issued the following statement: (emphasis ours)

“In light of recent events, it feels like a useful moment to clarify the ADL position on X and its leadership.

“As we have noted in our research over the past several years, X – along with other social media platforms – has a serious issue with antisemites and other extremists using these platforms to push their hateful ideas and, in some cases, bully Jewish and other users.

“We appreciate X’s stated intent over the last few weeks to address antisemitism and hate on the platform. This has been useful; more needs to be done; and, as we have with other companies, in the spirit of collaboration, we are hopeful that we can continue to engage with X on this important matter.

“We want to do so because ADL fights antisemitism, hate, and extremism across all platforms and regardless of party or ideology. We attempt to work with each platform in a constructive manner. We engage with all of them routinely on how to make their platforms better.

“To be clear, any allegation that ADL has somehow orchestrated a boycott of X or caused billions of dollars of losses to the company or is “pulling the strings” for other advertisers is false.

Indeed, we ourselves were advertising on the platform until the anti-ADL attacks began a few weeks ago. We now are preparing to do so again to bring our important message on fighting hate to X and its users.

“A better, healthier, and safer X would be a win for the world. We’ve said that publicly and repeatedly, and we hope that company leadership shares that goal as well. As we do with all platforms, we will credit X as it moves in that direction, and we also will call it out when it has not.

“For over a century, ADL has worked across the political spectrum and with a wide range of companies and organizations to promote tolerance and religious freedom while challenging antisemitism and hate. We know that the vast majority of Americans share these goals.  By working collaboratively with X and other platforms, we endeavor to further this common mission while respecting the Constitutional right to free speech and religious liberty that belongs to all of us.”

So, the fact that ADL is restarting its advertising on the platform implies it is a ‘better, healthier, and safer’ place.

Furthermore, it will be hard for all the other members of the censorship industrial complex to now argue against advertising on X,since if it’s good enough for a group as virtuous as ADL, it must be good enough for everyone.

Elon Musk appears pleased with their decision…

Thank you for clarifying that you support advertising on 𝕏 https://t.co/OeFrumgYt3

— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) October 4, 2023