The head of the Anti-Defamation League says Elon Musk's behavior is 'dangerous and deeply irresponsible' after he threatened to sue the non-profit

• The CEO of the Anti-Defamation League has called Elon Musk's behavior "deeply irresponsible."
• Musk said the ADL falsely accused him of being "antisemitic" and supported anti-ADL posts on X.

The CEO of the Anti-Defamation League called out Elon Musk after the X owner threatened to sue the organization, claiming it had accused him of being antisemitic.

The ADL's chief Jonathon Greenblatt said in a statement that Musk's comments are just the "threat of a frivolous lawsuit."

He remarked that Musk's "behavior is not just alarming nor reckless," but that "it is flat out dangerous and deeply irresponsible."

He added: "We need responsible leaders to lead, to stop inflaming hatred, and to step back from the brink before it's too late."

Musk said in a series of tweets on Monday that X would file a defamation lawsuit against the ADL saying in one tweet that the group "has been trying to kill this platform by falsely accusing it & me of being anti-Semitic."

Musk added that X's US advertising revenue has declined by 60%, saying this was "primarily due to pressure on advertisers by ADL."

The ADL is an organization founded in 1913 with a mission to "to stop the defamation of the Jewish people and to secure justice and fair treatment to all," according to its website. It has recorded increased hate speech on the platform since Musk's $44 billion takeover in October 2022.

Musk's comments came after Greenblatt posted about a meeting with X's CEO Linda Yaccarino in which he said they had a "productive conversation" about the proliferation of hate speech on X.

Shortly afterwards, the hashtag #BanTheADL began trending on the platform with Musk even liking and supporting some of the posts. He responded to a post by YouTube streamer Keith Woods — previously accused by ADL of spreading antisemitic content — saying "ADL has tried very hard to strangle X/Twitter."

Greenblatt's statement continued: "It is profoundly disturbing that Elon Musk spent the weekend engaging with a highly toxic, antisemitic campaign on his platform — a campaign started by an unrepentant bigot that then was heavily promoted by individuals such as white supremacist Nick Fuentes, Christian nationalist Andrew Torba, conspiracy theorist Alex Jones and others."

He added: "Finally, we saw the campaign manifest in the real world when masked men marched in Florida on Saturday brazenly waving flags adorned with swastikas and chanting 'Ban the ADL.'"

Twitter and ADL did not immediately respond to Insider's request for comment, made outside regular US working hours.