SpaceX and Tesla founder Elon Musk paid a visit to Auschwitz following tirades of criticism leveled against him for endorsing an antisemitic conspiracy theory.
Leading Jewish figures urged Musk to see the Auschwitz death camp for himself after the tech billionaire’s social media platform X came under fire for how it tackles antisemitic posts.
Elon Musk and Ben Shapiro are touring Auschwitz in Poland. pic.twitter.com/bAsBvZ5Fuc
— Ian Miles Cheong (@stillgray) January 22, 2024
According to the BBC, Elon Musk will address antisemitism in online spaces at a conference hosted by the European Jewish Association (EJA) later today, Monday, January 22nd.
The Nazi regime in Germany murdered at least 1.1 million prisoners in the Auschwitz death camp in occupied Poland during World War Two and almost one million of these people were Jews. The Auschwitz Museum states that more than two hundred thousand were children and young people.
Elon Musk laid a wreath and took part in a memorial service, which included lighting a candle during a private visit, according to the BBC, which reported that the billionaire appeared in photos with his son on his shoulders while standing next to Holocaust survivor Gidon Lev.
Elon Musk’s Activity Leading up to His Visit to Auschwitz
The Telegraph reported that Elon Musk apologized after he seemed to endorse a conspiracy theory by replying to a tweet that claimed Jewish people were engaged in inciting “hatred against whites.” The entrepreneur responded to the post, stating it was “the actual truth.”
You have said the actual truth
— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) November 15, 2023
According to the paper, Elon Musk later said his comment was the “worst and dumbest” thing he had ever sent.
Elon Musk has previously had run ins with well-known anti-semitism campaigners, including the Anti-Defamation League. He has threatened to sue the organization, which advocates and campaigns against ‘hate speech’ and has called for an advertising boycott of X.
The BBC stated that as a result of the fall-out over Elon Musk’s agreement with the antisemitic post, major companies such as Apple, Disney, and IBM paused their advertising on X.
Following his apology in November of last year, the billionaire joined Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu for a tour of the Kfar Aza Kibbutz which was targeted by Hamas during the October 7th attacks during which 1,300 people were killed. Around 240 people were taken hostage, as reported by the BBC.
The broadcaster also explained that the Memorial and Museum Auschwitz-Birkenau had previously been critical of X. In August of last year, the BBC had criticized Elon Musk after his platform failed to remove a post denying the holocaust, stating that the post did not break the rules.
The post was a response to one from the museum about a three-year-old Jewish girl who was murdered in the camp’s gas chambers.
The post called her death a “fairy tale” and used antisemitic tropes.
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