X owner Elon Musk’s threat to sue the Anti-Defamation League isn’t going over well on his own platform.
Users of the website, known as Twitter when he purchased it last year for $44 billion (£35 billion) are calling him out for hypocrisy for claiming he’s a “free-speech absolutist” while also saying he has “no choice” but to sue the organisation.
The ADL has criticised Musk for restoring accounts that had been previously banned for hate speech, a spike in antisemitism on the site after his takeover and for weak moderation policies.
The company’s value has plunged since Musk’s purchase, and he said on Monday that the ADL “seems to be responsible for most of our revenue loss.”
He said in another post that the organisation’s “unfounded accusations” have kept advertisers away.
“They have much less power in Asia, so our ad revenue there is still strong,” he wrote.
In yet another message, he said Tucker Carlson could join his lawsuit since the ADL had also pressured Fox News advertisers when Carlson was on the right-wing cable network.
Musk has also sued the Centrw for Countering Digital Hate after the watchdog organisation reported on spikes in hate speech on his platform.
Musk’s latest legal threat draw applause from his supporters, including at least some white nationalist and antisemitic accounts.
But he also got plenty of criticism ― including more than a few who couldn’t help point out the hypocrisy of a free speech “absolutist” suing his critics: