KRAKW, Poland Elon Musk has upped his war on woke by saying that diversity-oriented hiring policies are fundamentally antisemitic and discriminatory, shortly after a private visit to the Auschwitz-BirkenauNazi concentration camp.
The controversial tech billionaire was speaking at a European Jewish Association (EJA) conference in the Polish city ofKrakw, amid rising criticism that his social media platform X, formerly Twitter has allowed rampant hate speech to spread. Musk himself sparked outrage in November when hepublicly agreedwith an antisemitic tweet claiming that Jewish communities have been pushing the exact kind of dialectical hatred against whites that they claim to want people to stop using against them.
While his trip to Poland allowed him to push back at the charges of antisemitism, he also seized the opportunity to turn his fire against one of his favorite bugbears: Diversity, equity and inclusion policies.
Always be wary of any name that sounds like it could come out of a George Orwell book. Thats never a good sign, Musk told American right-wing commentator BenShapiro, who joined him on stage. Sure, diversity, equity and inclusion all sound like nice words, but what it really means is discrimination on the basis of race, sex, sexual orientation and its against merit and thus I think its fundamentally antisemitic.
Musk, who confirmed that he does indeed write all of his own posts on X, has been vocal about his feelings toward diversity, equity and inclusion, including by claiming, without evidence, that diverse hiring initiatives at Boeing and United Airlines have made air travel less safe.
His comments feed into a broader debate on inclusive hiring policies, most especially on U.S. college campuses. The resignation ofHarvard President Claudine Gayover a plagiarism scandal was seized upon by Republicans, who claim top schools are examples of American institutions in the throes of a leftist political transformation. Critics argue this radical leftist culture on campuses is stoking antisemitism, and top university leaders hit heavy flak last month for their poor handling of a congressional hearing on the bullying of Jews.
On Monday, Shapiro went easy on Musk, steering the conversation towards meritocracy rather than Musks increasingly controversial social media outbursts and allowing the Tesla boss to continue his attacks on a subject he has made a great deal of mileage out of.
I think we need return to a focus on merit and it doesnt matter whether youre man, woman, what race you are, what beliefs you have, what matters is how good you are at your job or what are your skills, Musk said.
At the EJA conference a daylong summit on the rise of antisemitism in the aftermath of the October 7 attack on Israel by Hamas Musk also defended X against accusations of antisemitism and hate speech, saying freedom of speech must be protected even when controversial. According to the billionaire, who cited audits without offering further details, X has the least amount of antisemitism among all social media platforms, adding that TikTok has five times the amount of antisemitism that X has.
Relentless pursuit of the truth is the goal with X, Musk said. And allowing people to say what they want to say even if its controversial, provided it does not break the law, is the right thing to do.
Musk has faced widespread criticism over the rise of disinformation and hate content since he bought the social media platform for $44 billion in 2022, criticism that intensified in the weeks following the escalation of the Israel-Hamas war last October.
The reported spread of fake and misleading content on the conflict led the EU to launch an investigation into X. And things got worse for Musk after progressive watchdog groupMedia Matterspublished a reportalleging that X had run ads for major companies next to neo-Nazi posts.
The Media Matters report and Musks endorsement of an antisemitic post sparked a backlash fromseveral public figuresand culminated in an advertiser exodus, as multiple companies pulled their adsfrom the site, including giants such as Apple, IBM, Disney and Coca-Cola. According to aNew York Times report, this could result in a loss of up to $75 million for X.
Musk has since apologized for the antisemitic post admitting he should not have replied to it and then traveled to Israel to meet with President Isaac Herzog and Prime Minister BenjaminNetanyahu, in what could be seen as an apology tour.
Speaking about his visit to Israel, Musk said indoctrinated Hamas fighters have to be killed or imprisoned to prevent them from killing more Israelis. And the next step is fighting further indoctrination in Gaza, he added.
The indoctrination of hate into kids in Gaza has to stop, Musk said. I understand the need to invade Gaza, and unfortunately some innocent people will die, theres no way around it, but the most important thing to ensure is that afterwards the indoctrination stops.
According to Gazas Health Ministry, Israeli airstrikes and ground attacks have killed over 25,000 Palestinians and wounded more than 60,000 since the attack by Hamas onOctober7, in which Israeli officials say the militant group killed over 1,200 nationals and foreigners and took 240 hostages.
Musk said the West has shifted to a mentality that equates smaller, weaker groups with goodness.
We need to stop the principle that the normally weaker party is always right, this is simply not true, Musk said. If you are oppressed or the weaker party it doesnt mean youre right.
Musk who joked multiple times that he considers himself Jew by aspiration and by association was supposed to visit the Auschwitz-BirkenauNazi concentration camp on Tuesday alongside other speakers and political leaders from the EJA conference, but he instead took a private tour of the site with his young son.
The Auschwitz Museum itself was among one of the entities that had called out Musk for failing to contain antisemitic content.
View original post here:
Elon Musk: Diversity-based hiring is antisemitic - POLITICO Europe
- Elon Musk bought Twitter because the account tracking his private jet annoyed him, book says - Quartz - February 16th, 2024 [February 16th, 2024]
- Elon Musk Says Employees Are 'More Productive' in the Office. A New Study Says He's Wrong - Inc. - February 16th, 2024 [February 16th, 2024]
- Elon Musk, fuming over $55 billion Tesla pay ruling, switches Neuralink incorporation from Delaware to Nevada - Fortune - February 16th, 2024 [February 16th, 2024]
- SpaceX files to move incorporation site from Delaware to Texas - CNBC - February 16th, 2024 [February 16th, 2024]
- Top labor economist says dont believe the AI doom narrativeand his reason why is the underpopulation crisis Elon Musk talks about - Fortune - February 16th, 2024 [February 16th, 2024]
- Elon Musk to his sycophant pet journalist Matt Taibbi: "You are dead to me" - Boing Boing - February 16th, 2024 [February 16th, 2024]
- Ukraine Says Russia Is Using Starlink at the Front Line, Prompting Pushback From Elon Musk - The Wall Street Journal - February 16th, 2024 [February 16th, 2024]
- Elon Musk opposes aid to Ukraine, says Putin can't lose Bloomberg - Yahoo News - February 16th, 2024 [February 16th, 2024]
- Musk ordered to testify again in SEC investigation of Twitter takeover - The Guardian - February 16th, 2024 [February 16th, 2024]
- Tesla Stock Is Up Again. What's the Latest News. - Barron's - February 16th, 2024 [February 16th, 2024]
- Who killed Twitter? - Platformer - February 16th, 2024 [February 16th, 2024]
- Ex-Twitter engineer says Musk wrongly fired him for leaking information to the press - Business Insider - February 16th, 2024 [February 16th, 2024]
- How Teslas Board Can Solve Its Elon Musk Problem Without Overpaying - Barron's - January 23rd, 2024 [January 23rd, 2024]
- Elon Musk Backs Prediction of 1 Billion Humanoid Robots by 2040 - Elon Musk Backs Prediction of 1 Billion Humanoid ... - IoT World Today - January 23rd, 2024 [January 23rd, 2024]
- Elon Musk, CEO of X, to visit Poland amidst online antisemitism uproar - NBC News - January 23rd, 2024 [January 23rd, 2024]
- Elon Musk expresses shock about the Holocaust after Auschwitz visit that was incredibly moving, and deeply sad and tragic that humans could do this to... - January 23rd, 2024 [January 23rd, 2024]
- Elon Musk says he is 'Jewish by Association' after Auschwitz visit - USA TODAY - January 23rd, 2024 [January 23rd, 2024]
- MrBeast's first video on X made $263,000 in win for Elon Musk's creator dreambut the YouTube star dismissed the ... - Yahoo Finance - January 23rd, 2024 [January 23rd, 2024]
- Elon Musks satellite army has a new target: Connecting the $183 billion farm industry to high-tech ag tools - Fortune - January 23rd, 2024 [January 23rd, 2024]
- Everything Elon Musk Did During His Visit To Auschwitz - The Onion - January 23rd, 2024 [January 23rd, 2024]
- Elon Musk visits Auschwitz after uproar over antisemitic messages on X - The Guardian - January 23rd, 2024 [January 23rd, 2024]
- Elon Musk visits Auschwitz with Ben Shapiro - The Jerusalem Post - January 23rd, 2024 [January 23rd, 2024]
- At Auschwitz, Musk says social media, free speech would have prevented extermination - The Times of Israel - January 23rd, 2024 [January 23rd, 2024]
- Musk on visiting Auschwitz: It will take a few days to sink in - Forward - January 23rd, 2024 [January 23rd, 2024]
- Stellantis CEO warns of EV bloodbath and race to the bottom if car makers follow Elon Musks lead and start cutting prices - Fortune - January 23rd, 2024 [January 23rd, 2024]
- Elon Musk says audits show less antisemitism on X than other apps - Fox Business - January 23rd, 2024 [January 23rd, 2024]
- Musk vs. Zuckerberg: Elon seems to envy the other CEO's Meta control - Business Insider - January 23rd, 2024 [January 23rd, 2024]
- Elon Musk With Ben Shapiro in Auschwitz: Another Cynical Whitewashing Performance - Haaretz Today - Haaretz - January 23rd, 2024 [January 23rd, 2024]
- Elon Musk visits Auschwitz after uproar over antisemitic messages on X - South China Morning Post - January 23rd, 2024 [January 23rd, 2024]
- Following Auschwitz visit, Elon Musk says X could have saved Jews from the Holocaust - JTA News - Jewish Telegraphic Agency - January 23rd, 2024 [January 23rd, 2024]
- Will Elon Musk's xAI Be The Downfall Of OpenAI After Sam Altman's Betrayal and Ousting? - Yahoo Finance - January 23rd, 2024 [January 23rd, 2024]
- Elon Musk Surprisingly Reacts to Bitcoin's Epic Surge By U.Today - Investing.com - January 23rd, 2024 [January 23rd, 2024]
- Elon Musk visits Auschwitz amid uproar over antisemitic messages - Business Insider - January 23rd, 2024 [January 23rd, 2024]
- MrBeast reveals his first video on X made $263,000but the YouTube multi-millionaire dismissed the cash as a facade and is giving it away - Fortune - January 23rd, 2024 [January 23rd, 2024]
- Elon Musk Just Demanded 25 Percent of Tesla Stock. Here's Why That's Not as Crazy as It Sounds - Inc. - January 23rd, 2024 [January 23rd, 2024]
- Elon Musk lays wreath at Auschwitz after private tour with Ben Shapiro and European rabbi - Baptist News Global - January 23rd, 2024 [January 23rd, 2024]
- Elon Musk denies AI startup has raised $500M of $1B goal - Fox Business - January 23rd, 2024 [January 23rd, 2024]
- Elon Musk's Tesla Confronts 'Black Cloud': Q4 Earnings Must Draw 'Line In The Sand Around Margins,' Analy - Benzinga - January 23rd, 2024 [January 23rd, 2024]
- Elon Musk visits Auschwitz, says he was 'naive' about antisemitism: 'Two-thirds of my friends are Jewish' - New York Post - January 23rd, 2024 [January 23rd, 2024]
- Elon Musk pledges to fund any Irish legal challenges to hate speech legislation - The Irish Times - January 23rd, 2024 [January 23rd, 2024]
- X appears to be juicing MrBeast's views as Elon Musk tries to woo the YouTuber to the platform - Mashable - January 23rd, 2024 [January 23rd, 2024]
- Elon Musk Wants You to Use Neuralink to Lose Weight. That's a Bad Idea. - The Daily Beast - December 27th, 2023 [December 27th, 2023]
- Twitter Violated Contract by Withholding Employee Bonuses, Judge Rules - The Daily Beast - December 27th, 2023 [December 27th, 2023]
- How Elon Musk Made Himself the Internet's Main Character in 2023 - Vanity Fair - December 27th, 2023 [December 27th, 2023]
- Elon Musks X Breached Twitter Worker Contracts By Refusing Bonuses, Judge Rules - Forbes - December 27th, 2023 [December 27th, 2023]
- Elon Musk's X accused of not paying employee bonuses after promising them verbally, to face court battle - India Today - December 27th, 2023 [December 27th, 2023]
- How Elon Musk became the world's most famous poster - Business Insider - December 27th, 2023 [December 27th, 2023]
- Sam Altmans OpenAI to be second-most valuable U.S. startup behind Elon Musks SpaceX based on early-talks funding round - Fortune - December 27th, 2023 [December 27th, 2023]
- Judge rules that Twitter violated contract when it withheld millions of dollars in bonuses - Courthouse News Service - December 27th, 2023 [December 27th, 2023]
- Elon Musk reveals production plans of low-cost Tesla model: The revolution [of] that car will blow peoples minds - Yahoo - December 27th, 2023 [December 27th, 2023]
- Tesla in 2024 will have 'moving pieces' from the Cybertruck to EV pricing - Austin American-Statesman - December 27th, 2023 [December 27th, 2023]
- Hyperloop, Elon Musks Pipe Dream, Bites the Dust - Rolling Stone - December 27th, 2023 [December 27th, 2023]
- The best books that CEOs read in 2023 from Airbnbs success story to Elon Musks biography - Fortune - December 27th, 2023 [December 27th, 2023]
- Elon Musk's Feud With Disney CEO Bob Iger Spills Over to Tesla - Observer - December 27th, 2023 [December 27th, 2023]
- Musk and Tesla are battling unions across Scandinavia. What comes next in the labor dispute? - The Associated Press - December 27th, 2023 [December 27th, 2023]
- From AI and inflation to Elon Musk and Taylor Swift, the business stories that dominated 2023 - The Associated Press - December 27th, 2023 [December 27th, 2023]
- Elon Musk Calls It 'Insane' -- But What Does the World Think? - Inc. - December 27th, 2023 [December 27th, 2023]
- How Donald Trump and Elon Musk killed Twitter, with Marty Baron and Zoe Schiffer - The Verge - December 27th, 2023 [December 27th, 2023]
- Hyperloop One to Shut Down After Failing to Reinvent Transit - Bloomberg - December 27th, 2023 [December 27th, 2023]
- Tesla Stock 2024 Forecast: Will the Elon Musk-Run Company Break Out to New Highs? - Nasdaq - December 27th, 2023 [December 27th, 2023]
- 49% of Americans dislike tech billionaires, but you probably still want to be like themhere's why, say experts - CNBC - December 27th, 2023 [December 27th, 2023]
- Startup that tried to realize Musk's hyperloop dream is shuttering - Business Insider - December 27th, 2023 [December 27th, 2023]
- The year of social media soul-searching: Twitter dies, X and Threads are born and AI gets personal - The Associated Press - December 27th, 2023 [December 27th, 2023]
- Elon Musk wants Grok to be the 'funniest' AI chatbot - Business Insider - December 27th, 2023 [December 27th, 2023]
- Musk's Erratic Behavior May Be Caused By Escalating Drug Use, Associates Say - The Daily Beast - August 24th, 2023 [August 24th, 2023]
- Keith Lee pitches Mr. Beast fight on Elon Musk vs. Mark Zuckerberg card - MMA Fighting - August 24th, 2023 [August 24th, 2023]
- Elon Musk Is Apparently Making the US Government Quite Nervous - Futurism - August 24th, 2023 [August 24th, 2023]
- Elon Musk Says He 'Looks Forward' To Visiting India In 2024 - Benzinga India - August 24th, 2023 [August 24th, 2023]
- Elon Musk, Sundar Pichai Applaud Chandrayaan-3's Landing on ... - The Weather Channel - August 24th, 2023 [August 24th, 2023]
- Tesla CEO Elon Musk still isn't ready to release hard information on ... - Longview News-Journal - August 24th, 2023 [August 24th, 2023]
- Mark Zuckerberg vs Elon Musk: clash of the tech egos - Financial Times - July 9th, 2023 [July 9th, 2023]
- "I Look..": How Elon Musk Reacted To His Viral Childhood Pic - NDTV - July 9th, 2023 [July 9th, 2023]
- Elon Musk believes Tesla will have 'level 4 or 5' self-driving this year ... - Electrek - July 9th, 2023 [July 9th, 2023]
- Arnold Schwarzeneggers Son Already Gives Up, Amid Elon Musk and Mark Zuckerberg Rigorously Hustling to Outdo Each Other: Honestly Dont Think I Have It... - July 9th, 2023 [July 9th, 2023]
- Elon Musk Responds To His Parody Account's "Lizard Boy" Tweet - NDTV - July 9th, 2023 [July 9th, 2023]
- Musk sues law firm for $135m bill on Twitter deal - The Australian Financial Review - July 9th, 2023 [July 9th, 2023]
- `Insane`: Elon Musk Reacts To His Viral Baby Picture, Netizens Say This - Zee News - July 9th, 2023 [July 9th, 2023]
- Mark Zuckerberg Trolls Elon Musk Over Threads With First Tweet ... - The Daily Beast - July 9th, 2023 [July 9th, 2023]
- An Elon Musk-Controlled Charging Network Imperils The EV ... - Jalopnik - July 9th, 2023 [July 9th, 2023]
- Elon Musk Pledges That Tesla Will Uphold 'Core Socialist Values' in ... - The Daily Beast - July 9th, 2023 [July 9th, 2023]