In a new interview with Tucker Carlson, Alex Jones claims that if Elon Musk allowed the InfoWars host to return to X, the platform would be shut down.
Renewed speculation of Jones’ readmission to X appeared yesterday after Carlson’s announcement of a forthcoming in-depth interview. A video of their conversation, published on the platform at 6 p.m. Thursday, has gained nearly 9 million views.
When Musk, who firmly declined to allow Jones to return in the past, was asked about the possibility again on Dec. 7, the billionaire said he would consider it.
But according to Jones, Musk’s reinstatement of the InfoWars host’s account would result in X shutting down.
“I’m not mad at Elon Musk,” Jones told Carlson. “I understand I’ve been so demonized with the general public, he’s barely able to keep Twitter going right now.”
He continued: “I really appreciate what he’s done, I admire him, I think he’s done a lot of great work and I see him moving in the right direction. So, a lot of people attack Musk on Twitter, you know, I trend all the time, ‘Hey, if you’re such an absolutist on free speech, bring back Alex Jones.’ I understand that if he did that, the ADL [Anti-Defamation League] and others would really be able to probably shut down Twitter.”
He added: “So, I understand that he needs to go through a process before he does that.” Alex Jones doesn't expect Elon Musk to let him back on X:
"if he did that, the ADL and others would really be able to shut down Twitter." pic.twitter.com/ONWdhUVmMc
— Citizen Free Press (@CitizenFreePres) December 8, 2023
Jones explained that the ADL receives donations from liberals which, in turn, enables the organization to encourage sponsors to withdraw from individuals the ADL deems racist or antisemitic.
“That’s what they’ve done to Elon Musk,” Jones alleged. “They took over fifty percent of Twitter’s North American and European advertising in just the last year, and bragged about it by saying he gives ‘harbor’ to white supremacists, which he doesn’t.”
Musk and the ADL have been highly critical of one another since the billionaire entrepreneur purchased the platform in October of last year.
In a May 9 blog post, the ADL chronicled a list of alleged problems with Twitter’s policies following Musk’s takeover.
The organization took issue with policies that allowed “general amnesty” to users with suspended accounts and rolled back sections of the Hateful Conduct Policy that prevented misgendering, among other things. The ADL also took Musk to task for implementing “opaque changes” that permitted “discouraging trends.”
In September, Musk threatened to sue the ADL for lost ad revenue, claiming that the organization “would potentially be on the hook for destroying half the value of the company, so roughly $22 billion.”
He explained more in a follow-up post: “Based on what we’ve heard from advertisers, ADL seems to be responsible for most of our revenue loss. Giving them maximum benefit of the doubt, I don’t see any scenario where they’re responsible for less than 10% of the value destruction, so ~$4 billion.”
The ongoing feud between Musk and the ADL was rekindled last month when the X owner's reply to a post sparked widespread accusations of antisemitism from corporate press outlets.
The accusations can be traced back to a comment posted beneath a video shared by a Jewish conservative depicting a father who confronts his son for posting favorable comments about Hitler online. The video concludes with a call to Stand Up Against Jewish Hate.
“Jewish communties [sic] have been pushing the exact kind of dialectical hatred against whites that they claim to want people to stop using against them,” one user commented on the video. “I'm deeply disinterested in giving the tiniest s--- now about western Jewish populations coming to the disturbing realization that those hordes of minorities that support flooding their country don't exactly like them too much. You want truth said to your face, there it is.”
In a separate comment, the user clarified that that he supports Jewish people’s right to self-defense, but said “it’s been depressing to see Jewish communities not take a stronger stance against anti white dialecticism that is basically just repurposed antisemitism.”
Musk replied to the initial comment, “You have said the actual truth.”
He added: “The ADL unjustly attacks the majority of the West, despite the majority of the West supporting the Jewish people and Israel. This is because they cannot, by their own tenets, criticize the minority groups who are their primary threat. It is not right and needs to stop.” You have said the actual truth
— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) November 15, 2023
ADL CEO Jonathan Greenblatt shared a screenshot of Musk's reply, and wrote, "At a time when antisemitism is exploding in America and surging around the world, it is indisputably dangerous to use one's influence to validate and promote antisemitic theories. #NeverIsNow." At a time when antisemitism is exploding in America and surging around the world, it is indisputably dangerous to use one's influence to validate and promote antisemitic theories. #NeverIsNow pic.twitter.com/vVlyOeoS5x
— Jonathan Greenblatt (@JGreenblattADL) November 16, 2023
In a Nov. 19 post, Musk said accusations of antisemitism aimed at him are “bogus.”
“Nothing could be further from the truth,” he wrote. “I wish only the best for humanity and a prosperous and exciting future for all.”
