Arno used the Advanced Search function on X to examine Musk’s accounts, and those he engaged with, for mentions of Jews, Jewish, Judaism, antisemitism, Hitler and other key words. He went back over incidents that had been covered widely in the press and found new examples that had not been. He interviewed experts on extremism, and used a software tool called Flourish to organize some of his findings into a “web” that helps readers visualize the story.
He also listened — on 2x speed — to Musk’s lengthy public conversations with the Jewish and right-wing talk show host Ben Shapiro, Don Lemon and others.
“Someone in the YouTube comments said it’s like listening to the fastest-talking person in the world and the slowest-talking person in the world, which is right,” Arno noted. “You can hardly understand Ben Shapiro on 2x speed. Elon Must at 2x speed sounds like he’s talking at a normal pace.”
As Arno wrote, what you think about Musk and the Jews likely depends on what you think about other things, including President Donald Trump, the Israel-Hamas war, wokeness, DEI and antisemitism on the left and right. The next thing Arno has his keen eye on is what Musk might actually do — as opposed to say — regarding antisemitism and Israel.
“When push comes to shove on policies that directly impact Jews and antisemitism, where will Musk land?” he asked. “I’m curious now on how we see this play out on a tangible policy level, and I really have no idea what to expect.”
That’s where the best journalism comes from. | 