X suspended an account that it previously granted a gold checkmark to despite its repeated praise of Nazi leader Adolf Hitler.
The account, which used the handle @DefundIsraelNow, was taken offline over the weekend after a flood of complaints from users on the platform.
The user StopAntisemitism noted last week that X was earning up to $12,000 a year from the account due to its subscription, which gave its posts a greater reach, all while it was referring to Jews as “bloodthirsty” and “demonic.”
The news of X’s potential income on the account was first reported by the Daily Dot.
“Are we in 1939 Germany or 2024 America @elonmusk @lindayaX @Safety – $12k a year in gold check revenue shouldn’t take priority of the dehumanization of a group of people,” StopAntisemitism wrote. “Get this hate filled garbage off your platform!”
While it appears to have taken X nearly a week to respond, the account was eventually suspended for violating the platform’s rules. A second account launched by the user, @AntiZionistLg, was also suspended shortly after.
“Jew hating piece of trash @DefundIsraelNow, who called for Jews to be annihilated, has been purged from @X,” the user Awesome Jew wrote. “A huge thank you to all of you who were involved in getting him banned from @X.”
Yet Musk’s biggest supporters are expressing outrage over the removal, arguing that the pro-Hitler account should be free to spread Nazi ideology.
In response to a recent post in which Musk described X as a free speech platform, a user known as “Chief Trumpster” decried the decision while arguing in defense of other suspended users such as Holocaust denier Nick Fuentes.
“Free Speech on X doesn’t exist. @nickjfuentes, @Lucas_Gage_, @LeafyIsHere, @DefundIsrae,” Chief Trumpster wrote. “Now, and so many others are still banned. @elonmusk, standing by your beliefs in free speech means to restore their accounts. When can we expect this to happen?”
The prominent conspiracy theorist known as Dr. Anastasia Maria Loupis also lashed out at Musk for allegedly taking “direct orders” from Jews to have the account banned.
“After @StopAntiSemites called for @DefundIsraelNow ban, Musk took direct orders from them and suspended him!!” she wrote. “Absolutely despicable @elonmusk.”
As noted by the Daily Dot last month, the account had gone relatively unnoticed until it began posting conspiracy theories about the tunnel found near a synagogue in New York City.
The removal of the account on X comes in the wake of Musk’s visit to Auschwitz with conservative podcaster Ben Shapiro after the billionaire was accused of spreading antisemitic conspiracy theories.
Neither Musk nor X has responded to complaints from users regarding the suspension of the pro-Nazi account.
