SAN FRANCISCO - Elon Musk, the owner of social media platform X, formerly Twitter, said he is considering suing a leading anti-defamation group, arguing that its accusations of anti-Semitism have led the company to lose revenue.
Musk late accused the US-based Jewish organization of making unfounded complaints against him and X that have scared away advertisers.
"To clear our platform's name on the matter of anti-Semitism, it looks like we have no choice but to file a defamation lawsuit against the Anti-Defamation League... oh the irony!" Musk wrote on X on Monday.
"Based on what we've heard from advertisers, ADL seems to be responsible for most of our revenue loss," he wrote, adding that the group "would potentially be on the hook for destroying half the value of the company, so roughly $22 billion."
"Advertisers avoid controversy, so all that is needed for ADL to crush our US & European ad revenue is to make unfounded accusations," he wrote in a long thread that started with a clarification that he favors free speech but is "against anti-Semitism of any kind."
The ADL declined to comment on Musk's legal threats, but responded to the "BanTheADL" hashtag that has been trending on the website.
Musk, who bought Twitter last year and rebranded it as X, has come under fire for liking posts with the hashtag.
"It is profoundly disturbing that Elon Musk spent the weekend engaging with a highly toxic, anti-Semitic campaign on his platform," ADL chief executive Jonathan Greenblatt said in an email to AFP.
"This behavior is not just alarming nor reckless, it is flat out dangerous and deeply irresponsible."
The hateful campaign started after the ADL participated in a civil rights march marking the 60th anniversary of Martin Luther King's "I have a dream" speech, according to the group.
The ADL has for years accused the social media site of amplifying anti-Semitic hate speech and recently met with top executives at X.