Elon Musk to meet Israel's Benjamin Netanyahu in Silicon Valley
(Reuters) -Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu will meet X owner Elon Musk on Monday in Silicon Valley, an official in Netanyahu's office said on Thursday, and Musk said their talks would focus on artificial intelligence technology.
Netanyahu was already scheduled to visit California next week before traveling to New York for the U.N. General Assembly. The Israeli official confirmed the meeting with Musk, first reported by the Washington Post, but offered no further details.
In Silicon Valley, Netanyahu may try to bolster relations with executives in the high tech sector, a key driver of Israel's economy. During his trip, it was unclear whether Netanyahu will meet with President Joe Biden, who has expressed concern about a judicial overhaul undertaken by Netanyahu and his right-wing government.
Hate speech on X, formerly known as Twitter, has increased dramatically since Musk bought the site last year and loosened safeguards around content moderation. Last week, Musk said U.S. ad revenue had declined by 60%.
The meeting is the latest step in a campaign by Musk’s Jewish friends and allies to stave off the mounting criticism surrounding the increase in antisemitic speech on X, the Post said, citing five people familiar with the situation.
The White House did not immediately respond to Reuters requests for comment.
No did Musk, but on X he said that the meeting was scheduled weeks ago and would focus on artificial intelligence technology.
Civil rights groups, including the Center for Countering Digital Hate and the Anti-Defamation League (ADL), have issued findings that the volume of hate speech on X has grown dramatically under the stewardship of Musk, who is also the CEO of electric carmaker Tesla (NASDAQ:TSLA).
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