How Elon Musk caved into Zionist lobby and allowed Palestine censorship on X

By Shabbir Rizvi

In late November last year, X and Tesla owner Elon Musk traveled to occupied Palestinian territories after facing blistering criticism of ‘anti-semitism’ from the Zionist lobby group “Anti-Defamation League.” 

Musk, one of the world's richest men and notoriously self-absorbed, was speculated to have embarked on the trip to save his image and business after shareholder value on X plummeted to the tune of nearly $75 million following the Zionist lobby’s smear campaign against him. 

Musk was escorted to various locations in the occupied territories where Hamas resistance fighters bravely engaged the Israeli occupation forces during the events of the October 7 operation.

There, Musk was subject to photo ops by Israeli media, seen standing next to staged atrocities and fed the same disinformation that Zionist officials have in the past four months been brazenly peddling.

Interestingly enough, Musk, surrounded by Zionist forces, refused to enter Gaza to hear the Palestinian side of the story, cowardly admitting that the besieged territory was “too dangerous.”

The visit served as an opportunity for the Israeli regime to use one of the world’s filthy rich men and influencers as a propaganda tool. What followed the visit was millions of social media users wondering: What exactly did the Israeli lobbies say, do, or promise to the American multi-billionaire?

It was already known that there was some level of collaboration between Musk’s iteration of X and Zionist technology, as well as a vicious, paid disinformation campaign on X run by Israeli officials.

Upon Musk’s return to the US, something was different. X users who previously slanted towards the Palestinian cause saw suppression of their voices and began to lose followers. 

Then came the heavy-handed crackdown. Pro-Palestinian journalists were suspended without warning, particularly those who were adamantly taking apart Zionist billionaire Bill Ackman and his racist attacks on Palestinian student groups. They were eventually reinstated after widespread public backlash. 

Musk, who in his earlier avatar claimed to be a “free speech absolutist” has yet to comment on why these accounts were removed from his social media platform in the first place.

Interestingly, the “free speech absolutist” even prior to his trip to Occupied Palestine asserted that using or endorsing the world-famous slogan “From the river to the sea, Palestine will be free!” would result in a ban from the platform for “advocating genocide.”

Meanwhile, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu used this exact phrase, only in outlining the full occupation of Palestine, which is resulting in an actual genocide - and still exists on the platform. 

There is little doubt that Musk has submitted himself entirely to the Zionist lobby. Even before his ADL bout in November, Musk, whose father’s wealth came from racist exploitations in apartheid South Africa, often sided with reactionary causes while protecting himself through humor and distractions.

However, it must be soberly examined whether Musk was ever in any real control of X in the first place.

Facts have surfaced that show Zionist infiltration of X even before the infamous Musk visit to occupied Palestine. Several high-ranking Israeli military personnel have been identified working for X - and not in any small role. It has been revealed they especially work in positions of key influence at a popular social media company, specializing in content moderation and account suspensions. 

Take for example Michal Totchani - whose professional profile is readily available. Totchani works at the X Dublin office in a Senior Trust & Safety position. Her resume is full of red flags: not only was she an Israeli intelligence commander but also worked for Netanyahu’s ‘National Security Council’ in 2015.

Interestingly, she also worked for social media giant TikTok in a similar role - Product Policy Manager. TikTok has also been notorious for banning pro-Palestinian voices, despite widespread and uncontested popularity of the Palestinian cause on the platform.  

Should a former “Assistant to Head of Legislation” at an Israeli ministry be trusted to control and command “unbiased” moderation? How can one even retain a position knowing full well of their decades-long work at defending an apartheid regime - both through legislation and armed forces?

There are others, too. A hashtag on X seeks to expose various Israeli personnel - not just soldiers, but policy experts, influencers, and more in positions of unique influence - using the hashtag “#IDFatX.”

Under this hashtag, you will find content moderators and policy specialists who can regulate who can say what. Their backgrounds include services in intelligence for Western militaries and agencies, as well as lobbying and think tanks.  

Most of the employees mentioned predate Musk’s takeover at X. Musk, who insisted he would “free X” and make it a playground for free speech, has brought in these moderators with sketchy backgrounds. 

Despite a mass firing and rounds of layoffs at the start of Musk’s takeover, it seems that some of those who survived are uniquely in a position to defend the Israeli occupation - and these are just surface-level employees who happen to have some social clout to themselves. 

Many would argue “So what?”, saying past service in policymaking has no impact on grounds to create policy for a supposedly non-aligned tech company.

By contrast, there are no employees - absolutely none - that are in any key position promoting the Palestinian cause - or even any other foreign entity for that matter. There are no Russian or Chinese influencers or prior government officials of the same caliber as that of the Israeli regime. 

Can you imagine if there were any? Senate hearing committees - who are currently conducting racist examinations of TikTok by accusing a Singaporean CEO of being a Chinese agent - would be gutting X left, right, and center.

Musk would be under fire for employing “CPC agents” or “Kremlin assets.” However, Israeli intelligence seems to miss that critical bar. 

Tech giants like X and Meta have always been allowed to operate with near full impunity to sell user data and spy on users themselves at the behest of US agencies like the NSA and FBI.

So much so that it is public record that various state agencies are routinely collecting data. It’s no surprise that US junior partners - especially ones with unique imperialist interests like Israel - are rarely critically examined when it comes to their own role inside social media giants.

However, non-aligned or antagonistic nations that could have the same influence on Twitter find their influencers cracked down on. 

Musk’s reeling in by Netanyahu and the Tel Aviv regime was not X being subverted post-October 7. X, previously known as Twitter, was always subverted in one way or another, not only by agents who swear allegiance to the Israeli Occupation but by the US State Department itself.

Musk’s changed behavior should be looked at as nothing more than a self-interested, racist billionaire saving face after his immature actions that cost him millions of dollars. 

If Musk was serious about free speech as he claims, if he was serious about the right to information, he would never allow the banning of pro-Palestinian journalists, and never entertain the thought of a past legislator and policy expert of an internationally condemned entity to head his content management. 

Many would argue that X has been reeled in or subverted after Musk’s visit. But the fact of the matter is that X, Meta, and any social media giant that is allowed to operate in the US - can only operate if it is subordinated to the interests of the state.

Musk’s “changed” behavior is only face-saving for the billionaire. The damage was done long ago. 

Shabbir Rizvi is a Chicago-based political analyst with a focus on US internal security and foreign policy.

(The views expressed in this article do not necessarily reflect those of Press TV)

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