Phone with X app open cast in green light

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Why did X give an ‘official organization’ gold checkmark to a pro-Hitler account?

The account also recently described Auschwitz as a 'summer camp.'

 

Mikael Thalen

Tech

Posted on Jan 24, 2024

Elon Musk’s X appears to be making money off of an account that regularly posts favorable content about Nazi leader Adolf Hitler.

Known as “Defund Israel Now,” the account initially paid for a blue checkmark in November of last year but was recently given a gold checkmark used by X to designate official organizations.

The account, which currently boasts more than 35,000 followers, went largely unnoticed until recently, when it began posting antisemitic conspiracy theories related to the discovery of a tunnel built under a New York synagogue.

Defund Israel Now further raised eyebrows this week after posting a speech from Hitler that they argued “still rings true today.”

In response to the backlash, the account defended its promotion of the video in light of the ongoing conflict between Israel and Palestine.

“Jews are more upset about me posting an 80+ year old Hitler video than they are about an actual genocide going on right now,” they said. “Yikes. I do this to expose them.”

The account has also posted in defense of white nationalist Nick Fuentes and even referred to the Auschwitz concentration camp as a “summer camp” before later deleting the remark.

Defund Israel Now, according to its website, “is a new organization that aims to revolutionize the way people learn and share knowledge about American politics.”

“For 25+ years, Zionist politicians have lobbied to send over $4B/per year in financial aid to Israel at the expense of American taxpayers,” the site reads. “Still, Israel remains an apartheid state that does NOT benefit the American working class.”

Despite being designated as an official organization by Musk’s platform, the group’s website does not include any other information other than a link to its X profile.

Not only that, X is likely earning money from the account given its previous subscription to Twitter Blue.

Defund Israel Now is just one of many controversial accounts X has granted a verified checkmark. As reported by the Daily Dot in September, X also verified multiple users that had the N-word in their handles.

Antisemitic content has flourished on X under Musk’s leadership. Musk has attempted to push back on complaints with numerous public relations stunts, including a recent visit to Auschwitz with conservative podcaster Ben Shapiro, as well as a trip to Israel in the wake of the Oct. 7 Hamas attack.

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*First Published: Jan 24, 2024, 1:43 pm CST