New Bedford Guide Your Guide to New Bedford and South Coast, MA
Colin A. Young
State House News Service
The Massachusetts Senate and President Karen Spilka joined a growing exodus Tuesday from X, the social media platform formerly known as Twitter that has reportedly been shedding advertisers and users amid owner Elon Musk’s endorsement of an antisemitic conspiracy theory.
Musk responded last week to a tweet that detailed a theory claiming that Jewish people are driving “hordes of minorities” to replace white people and said the post contained “the actual truth.” Since then, major advertisers have paused or pulled their ads from the platform, Media Matters published a report showing ads for major corporations appearing on X next to antisemitic material (and Musk has sued over it), and more individual users have given up on the former Twitter.
The X accounts for @MA_Senate and @KarenSpilka were no longer active or available on X as of about 3 p.m. Tuesday.
“Actions speak louder than words, but words still matter. Elon Musk has long promoted and enabled hateful speech and it is clear that he is not committed to hosting a platform that builds productive, respectful dialogue. With Elon Musk’s endorsement of a monstrous and dangerous antisemitic lie, I can no longer justify using the X platform for any reason,” Spilka said in a statement Tuesday. “I can be found on Facebook, Instagram, Threads and LinkedIn, as can the Massachusetts State Senate. I hope you will follow me, and the Senate, on these platforms, and join us in leaving X.”
