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X under fire for 'shocking disrespect' of antisemitism royal commission

The Royal Commission on Antisemitism and Social Cohesion has criticized X Corp for failing to cooperate with its inquiry, with counsel assisting describing the company's conduct as showing 'shocking disrespect and disregard' for online safety. The Online Hate Prevention Institute also told the inquiry that Elon Musk's leadership and mass layoffs have contributed to a rise in antisemitic content on the platform.

By Tertius News AI Desk 1 outlet · 2 articles Version 1 Coverage Jul 1–10, 2026 Published Aug 15

Lead

The Royal Commission on Antisemitism and Social Cohesion has expressed frustration at X Corp's refusal to engage with its inquiry, with counsel assisting the commission delivering a scathing address to platforms that did not respond. The commission has been hearing evidence about the prevalence of antisemitic content on social media, and representatives from Meta, TikTok, and YouTube Australia have fronted the inquiry.

Counsel assisting Richard Lancaster SC said on Friday that X Corp was contacted repeatedly through its Australian legal representatives in May and June but remained silent. He described the company's conduct as showing a 'shocking disrespect and disregard' for the online safety of Australian social media users. The lack of participation by X, Telegram, and others, he said, demonstrated an urgent need for regulatory reform.

Coverage comparison

The Online Hate Prevention Institute (OHPI), a charity that monitors and reports antisemitic content, has told the commission that Elon Musk is partly to blame for anti-Jewish hatred on the platform. Dr. Andre Oboler, who leads the institute, testified that X Corp has been 'generally difficult to work with, particularly from Australia' and that his organization has not had contact with the company for years. He said that the last Australian-based staff member he was able to engage with was former eSafety commissioner Julie Inman Grant, and that since then engagement has been limited.

Dr. Oboler linked the change in collaboration to Mr. Musk's 2022 purchase of the platform, which led to about 80 per cent of the trust and safety staff being fired almost immediately. He described a philosophical shift from a platform that 'was at least trying to improve safety' to one that embraced 'absolute free speech' almost, and noted that many users who had previously been removed were invited back, creating a toxic environment.

Key claims

X Corp did not cooperate with the Royal Commission, remaining silent despite repeated contact through its Australian legal representatives in May and June.
Representatives from Meta, TikTok, and YouTube Australia did front the commission.
Counsel assisting Richard Lancaster described X's conduct as showing 'shocking disrespect and disregard' for online safety.
The Online Hate Prevention Institute's Dr. Andre Oboler testified that X has been difficult to work with, with no contact for years.
Approximately 80% of trust and safety staff were fired after Musk's 2022 purchase of the platform.
The platform's philosophy shifted from safety improvement to 'absolute free speech' after Musk's purchase.
Previously removed users were invited back to the platform after Musk's purchase, creating a toxic environment.
Elon Musk amplified antisemitic content and performed a controversial salute at Trump's January 2025 inauguration, responding to criticism with 'The everyone is Hitler attack is sooo tired'.
X Corp no longer has a dedicated media contact and sends automated poo emoji replies to emails.

Perspectives

Royal Commission (via Counsel Assisting) : The commission views non-cooperation by X and Telegram as a clear disregard for Australian online safety, with the lack of participation demonstrating an urgent need for regulatory reform.

Online Hate Prevention Institute Dr. Oboler attributes the rise in antisemitic content to Musk's leadership, citing mass layoffs of trust and safety staff and a philosophical shift toward 'absolute free speech' as key factors.

X Corp (Elon Musk) While X did not engage with the commission, Musk's public statements suggest a defensive posture, as seen in his response to criticism of the 'salute': 'The everyone is Hitler attack is sooo tired.'

How this outlet told it

ABC Australia as of Jul 1, 2026, 2:30 AM UTC

Framing: Elon Musk's personal responsibility for rising antisemitism and platform toxicity — Critical and accusatory toward Musk, emphasizing specific controversial actions and personal influence

Facts Included:

Online Hate Prevention Institute reports Elon Musk is partly to blame for anti-Jewish hatred on X
X (formerly Twitter) has not responded to Royal Commission requests for engagement
Third round of hearings examining antisemitic content and barriers to removing offensive posts
Dr Andre Oboler states X has been difficult to work with and OHPI has had no contact for years
Approximately 80 percent of trust and safety staff were fired after Musk's 2022 purchase
Platform philosophy shifted from safety improvement to 'absolute free speech'
Previously removed users were invited back, creating a toxic environment
Musk amplified antisemitic content and performed a controversial salute at Trump's January 2025 inauguration
Musk responded to criticism with 'The everyone is Hitler attack is sooo tired'
X no longer has dedicated media contact and sends automated poo emoji replies to emails

Read the source article →

ABC Australia as of Jul 10, 2026, 2:31 AM UTC

Framing: Institutional non-cooperation by social media giants with official government inquiry — Formal, legalistic, and institutional, emphasizing regulatory failure and disrespect for democratic process

Facts Included:

X Corp did not cooperate with the Royal Commission on Antisemitism and Social Cohesion
Meta, TikTok, and YouTube Australia representatives fronted the commission
Counsel assisting Richard Lancaster SC issued a scathing address to non-cooperative platforms
X was contacted repeatedly through Australian legal representatives in May and June but remained silent
Antisemitic content is prevalent on X, which is used by millions of Australians
Lancaster described X's conduct as showing 'shocking disrespect and disregard' for online safety
Telegram also failed to participate in the inquiry
The lack of participation demonstrates an urgent need for regulatory reform

Read the source article →

What was claimed, and who backed it

Each row is one claim, attributed to the outlet whose wording states it most clearly. Confidence rates how directly the source text states the claim — explicit and unhedged rates high; hedged, pieced-together, or internally inconsistent statements rate lower. It does not measure whether the claim is true. Status counts the distinct outlets we found asserting it — so a single-source claim can still show high confidence, and a multi-source claim can show medium. Every one of those outlets is named beside the status, so you can check the count against the list. For claims extracted before we began storing that list, the row says so: it names the outlet the claim is quoted from and states that we have not recorded which outlets backed it. Outlets wrote at different times, so a figure that evolves — a casualty count, for example — can legitimately differ between rows; check the "as of" time next to each claim's source.

Claim	Confidence	Status
ClaimElon Musk's X Corp did not cooperate with the Royal Commission on Antisemitism and Social Cohesion. X Corp was contacted repeatedly through its Australian legal representatives in May and June but remained silent.	ConfidenceHigh	StatusSingle-source via ABC Australia as of Jul 10, 2026, 2:31 AM UTC
ClaimRepresentatives from major platforms Meta, TikTok, and YouTube Australia have fronted the commission.	ConfidenceHigh	StatusSingle-source via ABC Australia as of Jul 10, 2026, 2:31 AM UTC
ClaimAntisemitic content is prevalent on X, which is used by millions of Australians.	ConfidenceHigh	StatusSingle-source via ABC Australia as of Jul 10, 2026, 2:31 AM UTC
ClaimCounsel assisting Richard Lancaster SC issued a scathing address to non-cooperative platforms, describing X's conduct as showing 'shocking disrespect and disregard' for online safety.	ConfidenceHigh	StatusSingle-source via ABC Australia as of Jul 10, 2026, 2:31 AM UTC
ClaimThe lack of participation by X and others at the commission demonstrates an urgent need for regulatory reform.	ConfidenceHigh	StatusSingle-source via ABC Australia as of Jul 10, 2026, 2:31 AM UTC
ClaimApproximately 80 percent of trust and safety staff were fired after Musk's 2022 purchase of X.	ConfidenceHigh	StatusSingle-source via ABC Australia as of Jul 1, 2026, 2:30 AM UTC
ClaimThe platform's philosophy shifted from safety improvement to 'absolute free speech' after Musk's purchase.	ConfidenceHigh	StatusSingle-source via ABC Australia as of Jul 1, 2026, 2:30 AM UTC
ClaimPreviously removed users were invited back to the platform after Musk's purchase, creating a toxic environment.	ConfidenceHigh	StatusSingle-source via ABC Australia as of Jul 1, 2026, 2:30 AM UTC
ClaimElon Musk amplified antisemitic content and performed a controversial salute at Trump's January 2025 inauguration.	ConfidenceHigh	StatusSingle-source via ABC Australia as of Jul 1, 2026, 2:30 AM UTC
ClaimMusk responded to criticism with 'The everyone is Hitler attack is sooo tired'.	ConfidenceHigh	StatusSingle-source via ABC Australia as of Jul 1, 2026, 2:30 AM UTC
ClaimX Corp no longer has a dedicated media contact and sends automated poo emoji replies to emails.	ConfidenceHigh	StatusSingle-source via ABC Australia as of Jul 1, 2026, 2:30 AM UTC

Transparency & Audit Trail

1 outlet · 2 articles consulted: ABC Australia 11 claims extracted Version 1 Written 2026-08-15