Elon Musk, the billionaire owner of Tesla, SpaceX and social platform X, came under fire from all sides this week after endorsing an anti-Semitic conspiracy theory and then — in an ostensible attempt at damage control — terming phrases associated with the Palestinian cause “euphemisms that imply genocide”.
On Wednesday, the world’s richest man sparked outrage by endorsing an antisemitic post on X that falsely claimed that members of the Jewish community were stoking hatred against white people.
The original post was perceived as a reference to a longtime conspiracy theory among White supremacists that Jews have a secret plan to bring in illegal immigrants to weaken white majorities.
Most notoriously, the idea was promoted by the man who carried out a mass shooting at a synagogue in Pittsburgh in 2018, killing 11 people.
In attempt to cover for his anti-Semitic opinions, X owner terms pro-Palestine slogans ‘euphemisms for genocide’
This prompted a sharp rebuke from the White House, with spokesman Andrew Bates saying it was “unacceptable” to repeat such a “hideous lie.”—APP