Elon Musk bolstered the long-standing and dangerous conspiracy theory known as "Pizzagate" on X, the platform previously known as Twitter, on Monday. This comes just days after facing severe criticism and losing advertisers due to his endorsement of an antisemitic conspiracy theory.
On Monday, a user on X attempted to establish a connection between the founder of Media Matters, a progressive media watchdog that recently exposed major brands' advertisements appearing alongside pro-Nazi content on X, and the owner of the "Pizzagate restaurant." Musk responded with a simple "Weird." By replying, Musk brought the post to the attention of his massive following of over 160 million users on X.
Pizzagate, an unfounded conspiracy theory, emerged on various platforms such as 4chan, Reddit, and Twitter just before the 2016 US presidential election. This theory alleged the existence of a pedophilia ring centered around a Washington, DC pizza shop, implicating Hillary Clinton and other Democrats.
These baseless allegations led to the unfortunate incident where self-proclaimed "investigator" Edgar Maddison Welch fired an assault rifle inside the restaurant in December of the same year. Fortunately, no one was injured, but Welch was subsequently convicted and sentenced to four years in prison.
On June 16, 2023, Elon Musk, the CEO of SpaceX and Tesla, as well as the owner of Twitter, made an appearance at the Viva Technology conference held at the Porte de Versailles exhibition centre in Paris, France.
Gonzalo Fuentes/Reuters/File
Elon Musks X sues media watchdog Media Matters over report on pro-Nazi content on the social media site
Musk recently sparked controversy by promoting a conspiracy theory on his social media platform, endorsing the notion that Jewish communities fuel animosity towards White people. Additionally, he lent credibility to a fringe conspiracy theory surrounding the assault on Paul Pelosi, the spouse of former House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, by sharing a link to an article riddled with unfounded allegations against Paul Pelosi. As a result, Musk faced criticism from the White House and various other individuals for his involvement with an antisemitic conspiracy theory.
White House spokesperson Andrew Bates stated to CNN that it is completely unacceptable to perpetuate the horrific falsehood that underlies the most significant act of Antisemitism in American history, especially in such close proximity to the most tragic day for the Jewish community since the Holocaust.
On Friday, a number of prominent advertisers, including entertainment powerhouses Disney, Paramount, and NBCUniversal, ceased their financial support for X. Additionally, IBM decided to suspend its advertising on the platform after a Media Matters report revealed that its advertisement was featured alongside pro-Nazi material.
Musk has vehemently denied accusations of antisemitism, stating that they are completely false in a post on Sunday. Additionally, Musk's company has refuted the claims made by Media Matters, asserting that they have implemented measures to address and prevent antisemitism and discrimination on their platform. In response to the report, X has filed a lawsuit against Media Matters, alleging that they distorted the likelihood of ads appearing alongside extremist content on X.
However, X has yet to delete the pro-Nazi accounts highlighted in the Media Matters report. Instead, X has justified this decision by stating that these accounts have minimal engagement and will no longer be able to generate revenue.
