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Manhattan BP urges City Hall to use alternative to X amid antisemitism concerns
By
Giulia Heyward
Published Sep 7, 2023
Modified Sep 7, 2023
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By
Giulia Heyward
Published Sep 7, 2023
Modified Sep 7, 2023
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Manhattan Borough President Mark Levine is urging City Hall to steer away from X, the social media app formerly known as Twitter, amid ongoing tension between billionaire owner Elon Musk and the Anti-Defamation League
In May the ADL, which opposes antisemitism, published a report finding more than 5,000 examples of bigotry against Jews on the social media platform. The rampant antisemitism, the report found, occurred after thousands of previously banned accounts were reinstated shortly after Musk acquired X.
Several months later, Musk publicly blamed the ADL and its findings for a major loss in profits on the site, stating that advertising revenue “is still down 60% primarily due to pressure on advertisers” by the nonprofit. On Monday, Musk threatened to file a lawsuit against the ADL “to clear our platform’s name on the matter.”
In a letter exclusively obtained by Gothamist, Levine proposed the city start including Threads, a new social media platform owned by Meta, in its 311 inquiries. Currently, the city’s 311 program regularly responds to New Yorkers who interact with the service on X.
“I think, for the good of our democracy, we have got to find a platform which is not boosting the voices of scammers and trolls and bigots the way X does,” he said in an interview. "The New York City government — I do believe — is unwittingly continuing to prop Twitter up because it still makes it the only place you can go to for certain information about city government.”
Although the letter — addressed to Chief Technology Officer Matthew C. Fraser last month — does not mention the ADL or antisemitism, Levine, who is Jewish, said his own experience with antisemitism on the app partly led him to draft the correspondence.
“I can tell you from a personal perspective, the amount of antisemitic bile that was directed at me — and still continues to be directed at me — is alarming,” Levine told Gothamist. “And I’m not unique.”
In the letter, Levine said New Yorkers can regularly interact with 311 on X to report questions and concerns about city services.
And while 311 does engage with people on X, the same cannot be said for Threads, which launched in July. Although 311's Threads account has over 5,000 followers, it does not regularly interact with users on the platform.
Levine said the new platform, which now boasts more than 120 million accounts, “has now passed the threshold for warranting inclusion in 311’s real-time social media response program.”
“Every New Yorker deserves a choice in where they can access this valuable service,” Levine wrote. “Expanding direct digital contact to 311 through Threads encourages healthy competition in the social media sector while providing a safer digital space for our constituents to interact with the city.”
In a statement, mayoral spokesperson Kayla Mamelak said the city is open to engaging with users on Threads in the future.
“In addition to our ongoing user engagement on platforms like X, Facebook, and Instagram, 311 joined Threads earlier this summer and is open to exploring any opportunity to safely interact and communicate directly with New Yorkers wherever they are,” the statement reads.
And in a statement shared with Gothamist, ADL CEO Jonathan Greenblatt called Musk’s actions “profoundly disturbing.”
“But to be clear, the real issue is neither ADL nor the threat of a frivolous lawsuit,” Greenblatt said. “This urgent matter is the safety of the Jewish people in the face of increasing, intensifying antisemitism.”
X did not immediately provide comment to Gothamist.
This story has been updated with additional comment from City Hall.
Tagged
Politics
tech
eric adams
racism
Giulia Heyward
Giulia Heyward is a breaking news reporter on the Day-Of desk. She previously worked at NPR, as a breaking news reporter, and the New York Times, as a reporting fellow on the national desk. Her work has also appeared in CNN, The Atlantic and Politico. Got a tip? Email [email protected] or more securely on signal at 917-715-1458.
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