THEO VAN GOGH SPECIAL : Elon Musk hits out at Soros foundation before meeting Israel’s Netanyahu

X owner makes comment on his platform as he prepares to meet Israeli prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu

Hibaq Farah and Reuters

Mon 18 Sep 2023 14.42 BSTFirst published on Mon 18 Sep 2023 13.26 BST THE GUARDIAN

Elon Musk has accused George Soros’s foundation of wanting to destroy western civilisation, as the tech tycoon prepares to meet the Israeli prime minister, Benjamin Netanyahu, in California.

Musk made the comment in reply to a post by a user sharing footage of people arriving on the Italian island of Lampedusa from north Africa that referred to a “George Soros led invasion” of Europe.

“The Soros organization appears to want nothing less than the destruction of western civilization,” X’s owner posted.

Musk has been accused by civil rights groups of amplifying antisemitism on his platform – which he denies. He is scheduled to meet Netanyahu on Monday for talks that both men have said will focus on on artificial intelligence technology, and not the Anti-Defamation League (ADL), with whom Musk is feuding over antisemitism on X.

However, the Washington Post reported last week that the meeting was the latest step in a campaign by Musk’s Jewish friends and allies to stave off the mounting criticism surrounding the increase in antisemitic speech on X.

Musk has threatened to sue the ADL, a US-based civil rights group that campaigns against antisemitism and bigotry, and accused it of trying to “kill” the platform by “falsely accusing it and me of being antisemitic”.