SWC urges Elon Musk to take lead in struggle against anti-Semitism and racism on Twitter

October 28, 2022

The Simon Wiesenthal Center, a leading Jewish Human Rights NGO that monitors online hate on social media is urging new Twitter owner Elon Musk, to curb anti-Semitism and racism on Twitter. 

The Washington Post has reported on new racist slurs and Nazi memes on Twitter in the hours after Musk took over the social network Thursday. One account included a Nazi swastika as its profile picture and retweeted quotes from Musk alongside a series of anti-Semitic memes. Another tweet, showing a video montage glorifying Nazi Germany with the comment, "I hear that there have been some changes around here," was liked more than 400 times. Racial slurs were posted rampantly overnight. One single-word tweet, showing a single racial slur in all capital letters, was retweeted more than 500 times and liked more than 4,000 times. 

“This a mere preview of what the haters do when given unfettered access to social media platforms. The SWC urges Elon Musk to take the lead in the struggle against bigotry, anti-Semitism and racism on social media. We endorse the virtual marketplace of ideas in politics, culture, science etc. but not in hate. Twitter must not become the platform of choice for bigotry. Mr. Musk: take the lead and do the right thing,” urged Rabbi Abraham Cooper, Associate Dean and Director of Global Social Action who founded the SWC’s Digital Terrorism and Hate project. 

For further information, please email Michele Alkin, Director of Global Communications at malkin@wiesenthal.com or Shawn Rodgers at srodgers@wiesenthal.com, join the Center on Facebook, or follow @simonwiesenthal for news updates sent directly to your Twitter feed.

The Simon Wiesenthal Center is an international Jewish human rights organization numbering over 400.000 members. It holds consultative status at the United Nations, UNESCO, the OSCE, the Council of Europe, the OAS, and the Latin American Parliament (PARLATINO).