Andrew Torba is a militant Christian nationalist and the founder of the far-right social media platform Gab, which has been a repository of bigotry and antisemitism since its founding in 2016. Some of the antisemitism on Gab originates with Torba himself, as he frequently makes virulently antisemitic posts on the platform, which he frequently subsequently deletes.
Torba's rabid and overt antisemitism has been an issue in Pennsylvania's gubernatorial election, as Doug Mastriano, the Christian nationalism-promoting election conspiracy theorist Republican nominee, has close ties to Torba, having spent $5,000 promoting his campaign on Gab, accepting a $500 campaign donation from Torba, and even being interviewed by Torba on his platform.
Perhaps the scrutiny that Torba and his platform are receiving explains why Torba keeps deleting the antisemitic posts he publishes on Gab.
For instance, Torba recently lashed out at new Twitter owner Elon Musk for meeting with civil rights leaders, including Jonathan Greenblatt of the Anti-Defamation League, earlier this week. Given that Gab has long been a refuge for those who have been banned from Twitter, Torba is understandably concerned that if Musk restores the accounts of banned users, they will flock back to Twitter and likely abandon Gab.
Torba's antisemitism mixed with his business concerns may have caused him to blast Musk for meeting with ADL representatives on Tuesday, with Torba declaring in a now deleted post that he would "literally shut Gab down before bending the knee to the synagogue of Satan."
Torba posted an even harsher response via the Gab account on Telegram, another social media platform favored by far-right extremists, where he accused Musk of being "a slave to the Jews."
That post has also been deleted, but Torba has continued to publish posts on Telegram attacking the ADL, including one in which he said he'd support any candidate "who runs on the platform of shutting down the ADL and designating it a foreign terrorist organization."
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