X (TWITTER) OWNER MUSK THREATENS TO SUSPEND ACCOUNTS FOR USE OF “DECOLONIZATION” AND “FROM THE RIVER TO THE SEA”

Sat 18 October 2023:

Elon Musk, in one of his typical sweeping announcements about a policy change to X, formerly Twitter, claimed on Friday that the terms “decolonization” and “from the river to the sea” are euphemisms that “necessarily imply genocide,” and that using them on the platform might “result in suspension.”

Both expressions are often used by activists advocating for a Free Palestine, which means the end of occupation and the liberation of Palestinians between the Mediterranean Sea and the Jordan River. However, Israel supporters, Jewish advocacy groups, and many others see them as antisemitic, eliminationist rhetoric portraying the destruction of the Jewish state and its people.

Years ago, the militant group Hamas adopted “from the river to the sea” as a war cry, whereas Rep. Rashida Tlaib, the only Palestinian-American in the US Congress, was formally censured by the House this month in part for her embrace of the rallying cry, which she described as “an aspirational call for freedom, human rights, and peaceful coexistence.”

As I said earlier this week, “decolonization”, “from the river to the sea” and similar euphemisms necessarily imply genocide.

Clear calls for extreme violence are against our terms of service and will result in suspension. https://t.co/1fCFo5Lezb

— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) November 17, 2023

At risk of stating the obvious, anyone advocating the genocide of *any* group will be suspended from this platform

— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) November 17, 2023

But targeting pro-Palestine posts in the wake of the Israeli war on Gaza, drew criticism from Human rights activists.

“Threatening to silence users for peaceful, legitimate speech is a new low – even for Elon Musk,” Omar Shakir, Human Rights Watch’s Israel and Palestine director, wrote on social media. 

First line of @hrw "Threshold Crossed" report: "About 6.8 million Jewish Israelis & 6.8 million Palestinians live today btw the Mediterranean Sea & Jordan River."
Threatening to silence users for peaceful, legitimate speech is a new low—even for Elon Musk https://t.co/lhusD8jlgJ https://t.co/2X4BvFfDZc pic.twitter.com/iOvEEKe0ur

— Omar Shakir (@OmarSShakir) November 17, 2023

The controversy took a dramatic turn when Apple announced a complete pause on all advertising on Musk’s platform, just two days after Musk endorsed an anti-Semitic post. This decision triggered a cascade effect, with major technology and media giants, including IBM, Disney, Lionsgate, Warner Bros, Paramount, Sony Pictures, and Comcast/NBCUniversal, following suit and halting their advertising on Musk’s social media platform.

The decision to pull advertising comes after a report revealed that Apple’s ads had been running alongside tweets praising Adolf Hitler and the Nazis. Film studios such as Lionsgate, Warner Bros, Paramount, and Sony Pictures, as well as media companies like Comcast/NBCUniversal, all joined the boycott. IBM also joined the movement the night before. The New York Times reported that Disney would be pausing spending on Musk’s platform as well.

Musk’s troubles escalated further when he tweeted his enthusiastic agreement with an anti-Semitic post, accusing Jews of hating white people. The White House condemned Musk’s statements as “abhorrent,” and a coalition of over 150 rabbis called for a boycott of Musk’s platform by major advertisers, including Apple, Disney, Amazon, and Oracle.

Apple, once one of the social network’s biggest advertisers, spending as much as $100 million a year as of November 2022 when Musk purchased it, claimed to have “mostly stopped” advertising on the platform in December 2022. However, ad analytics data contradicts this assertion, revealing a different financial story. Since Musk’s acquisition, Twitter’s business has been in free fall, with advertisers fleeing, regulators investigating, user numbers plummeting, and staff levels at less than 50% of pre-Musk levels.

European Commission stops advertising on X over Israel-Hamas war disinformation

White House slams Elon Musk’s ‘abhorrent’ promotion of anti-Semitism

The White House has condemned Elon Musk, the world’s richest man and owner of the social media site X formerly known as Twitter, for promoting a “hideous” anti-Semitic conspiracy theory on his platform.

Speaking to reporters on Friday, White House spokesman Andrew Bates criticised Musk for calling an anti-Jewish tweet, which accused Jews of undermining Western civilisation through support for immigration, “the actual truth”.