Musk Faces Defamation, Calls Student "Psyop" in Neo-Nazi Brawl

Elon Musk was sued for more than $1 million for defamation after the X owner falsely identified a 22-year-old as a participant "in a violent street brawl on behalf o a neo-Nazi extremist group."

Musk, X, and Defamation Stories

Musk is not a stranger to lawsuits. Last August, X sued a nonprofit organization, the Center for Countering Digital Hate (CCDH), for allegedly contributing to the spiking levels of hate speech on X. The company also said that the CCDH pushed some advertisers to pause investments on the platform, causing millions of loss in revenue.

While the original tweet was deleted, there are still remnants of Musk's tweet regarding the issue which contributes to its further amplification on the platform.

According to the lawsuit, the term" false flag" is "popularized among conspiracy theory media figures to mean a hostile or harmful action (typically an attack or other act of violence) that is designed to look like it was perpetrated by someone other than the person or group responsible for it." In addition, the lawsuit also noted that Musk has been fixated on the concept of psyop or psychological operation.

Musk Amplifies Claim, Affected Student Suffers

Ben Brody, the student whom Musk falsely identified, stated in his complaint that he has been suffering emotional distress ever since Musk posted. Moreover, his family has also been experiencing a wave of harassment from strangers.

Brody has a Jewish heritage and stated that gaining a false reputation related to neo-Nazi regalia is "utterly profane and blasphemous if it were true."

As of writing, Brody has demanded a jury trial so that the court can assess the actual damages. In addition, he is likely to seek more than $1 million. Mark Bankston, the lawyer representing Brody, is looking forward to restoring his client's name and making sure that Musk knows that what he did was unacceptable.