Elon Musk continues to invite controversy.
The newly minted Twitter CEO on Monday posted a picture of a World War II Wehrmacht soldier carrying three carrier pigeons in a cage during the Nazi invasion of France on his social-media platform.
Musk’s original caption reads: “3 Unread Messages.” “How times have changed” has been added to the post.
The archival caption on the original photo on Getty Images reads: “A German Wehrmacht soldier carries a cage of carrier pigeons used for relaying messages, on the western front during the German invasion of France, known as the Battle of France, in World War II, circa May 1940.”
In follow-up tweets, Musk added: “Back when birds were real,” and “But if Twitter is bird, that means … followed by an exploding head emoji.
No additional explanation for the posts was provided.
However, given the level of antisemitic vitriol on the platform, the image is alarming. It also comes on the 84th anniversary of Kristallnacht — the “Night of Broken Glass” — when Nazis unleashed a series of pogroms terrorized Jews throughout Germany and Austria.
Musk, who recently completed his oftentimes tumultuous purchase of Twitter for $44 billion, promised the social network would not turn into a “free-for-all hellscape” under his rule. But just 12 hours into his reign, use of the N-word reportedly jumped 500 percent.
The Anti-Defamation League, among others, has called on advertisers to suspend their relationships with Twitter over fears the platform is becoming increasingly replete with antisemitic content. Ad agencies have also advised their clients to proceed cautiously.
Advertisers focused on the bottom line are gun-shy about seeing their brands associated with any kind of hate speech. Musk’s history of unpredictable behavior and online trolling are not reassuring top retailers. In late October, Musk tweeted, then deleted, a false conspiracy report about Paul Pelosi’s attack, as well as a link to a right-wing blog known for making bogus claims, according to CNBC.
Blue-chip advertisers, such as General Mills Inc., Pfizer Inc. and automaker Audi, are taking an ad break from Twitter, The Wall Street Journal reports. So are Ford and GM.
“Adidas may not want its logo appearing alongside, say, antisemitic tweets,” Washington Post political columnist Catherine Rampell wrote. “(If you don’t believe me, ask Kanye West, now known as Ye.) Family-friendly brands are probably not excited about appearing next to porn, either.”
West discovered hate tirades would not be tolerated by his business partners when his net worth plummetted after his threats against Jews.
Produced in association with Jewish News Syndicate.
