Last updated on March 23rd, 2024 at 09:18 am

Months after endorsing an antisemitic conspiracy theory, the CEO of X visited the site of the Nazi death camp

Elon Musk, who has previously endorsed antisemitic conspiracy theories and faced criticism for allowing antisemitic messages on X (formerly Twitter), visited the site of the Nazi death camp Auschwitz-Birkenau on Monday.

His visit to the infamous site, known for the atrocities of the Holocaust, occurred before his scheduled appearance at a conference on antisemitism organized by the European Jewish Association in nearby Krakow, Poland.

Photographs show Musk at the Birkenau site with Daily Wire podcaster Ben Shapiro, who was also slated to attend the EJA conference. Birkenau, located near Oswiecim in southern Poland, is enclosed by barbed wire and includes wooden barracks and the remains of a gas chamber as stark reminders of Nazi atrocities. The site also features a monument honoring the victims, and it hosts international ceremonies annually.

Before his participation in the European Jewish Association conference, Elon Musk privately visited Auschwitz-Birkenau with EJA chairman Rabbi Menachem Margolin, Ben Shapiro, and Holocaust survivor Gidon Lev. Musk laid a wreath at the Wall of Death and participated in a brief memorial ceremony and service at the Birkenau memorial,” the EJA said in an email.

Musk was scheduled to discuss online antisemitism with Shapiro at the conference in Krakow, held ahead of International Holocaust Remembrance Day on January 27th.

The billionaire has been accused by the Anti-Defamation League, a prominent Jewish civil rights organization, and others of tolerating antisemitic messages on the platform formerly known as Twitter since purchasing it in 2022. He sparked outcry in November, including from the White House, when he responded on X to a user who accused Jews of hating white people and professing indifference to antisemitism by posting, “You have said the actual truth.” He later apologized for the comment, calling it the “dumbest” post he’s ever made.

Several major brands, including Disney and IBM, ceased advertising on the platform last year after the liberal advocacy group Media Matters discovered that their ads were appearing alongside pro-Nazi content and white nationalist posts. X has subsequently filed a lawsuit against Media Matters, alleging that the Washington-based nonprofit fabricated the report to “drive advertisers from the platform and destroy X Corp”.

During the Second World War, more than 1.1 million individuals were murdered by the Nazis and their collaborators at Auschwitz. While the majority of the victims were Jewish, others included Poles, Roma, Soviet prisoners of war, LGBTQ+ individuals, and various other groups. Overall, approximately 6 million European Jews perished during the Holocaust. When the camp was liberated by the Soviets, around 7,000 survivors were found.