GENEVA, August 24, 2026 — UN Special Rapporteur Francesca Albanese is claiming to be a victim of “outright defamation” and has called for Elon Musk to censor criticism of her acting as “Hamas’s de facto spokesperson.”

In a response on X to a featured post by UN Watch Executive Director Hillel Neuer, Albanese wrote: “Calling me Hamas Spokesperson is outright defamation, something one might expect from a decent platform that breaks its own rules, but perhaps not from Twitter’s current patron. Am I right, @Twitter?”

Rather than address the extensive public record of her statements and conduct, Albanese is effectively calling on Elon Musk, the owner of X, to censor criticism of her pro-Hamas actions and statements.

Neuer replied directly: “Please sue me, Ms. Albanese. As you are a non-lawyer, let me explain: Truth is an absolute defense. I repeat: You are Hamas’s de facto spokesperson at the UN. I would love to put your record before a court. Of course, to sue me, you’d have to admit you know exactly who I am.”

Asked by Piers Morgan last year if she knew UN Watch executive director Hillel Neuer, Albanese famously responded: “Who?”

The UN rapporteur claiming not to know her nemesis has become a meme on social media.

Neuer Dares Albanese to Sue Him In Court Over “Defamation” Claim

In anticipation of such a court case, Neuer posted a series of evidentiary “exhibits,” including:

• Albanese’s own statements minimizing and “putting in context” Hamas’s October 7 massacre while it was underway, blaming Israeli “aggression.”
• Her repeated justification and praise of Hamas as a political force that “built schools, public facilities, hospitals” and her claim that eliminating Hamas is part of a “genocidal logic.”
• Multiple instances of senior Hamas officials publicly praising and thanking Albanese for her UN reports and speeches, along with calls to boycott the “rogue Zionist entity.”

Neuer said:

“Francesca Albanese cannot refute the facts of her record, so she resorts to crying ‘outright defamation’ and trying to get X to censor the truth on her behalf. This is the classic tactic of those who abuse the language of human rights while whitewashing terrorists.”

“For years we have documented that Albanese functions as Hamas’s de facto spokesperson at the United Nations. She has repeatedly inverted the Holocaust, invoked classic antisemitic tropes about Jewish power and the ‘Jewish lobby,’ justified or “contextualized” the October 7 massacre, and received open praise from Hamas leaders. Multiple democratic governments — including the United States, France, Germany, and Canada — have condemned her for antisemitism and Holocaust inversion. She is the first UN expert in history to receive such rebukes from these countries.”

“Truth is an absolute defense. If Albanese believes she has been defamed, she should sue me. I invite her to put her full record before a court of law. Discovery would expose many of her private antisemitic emails and Whatsapp messages that are well known among UN insiders. Until then, her demand that Elon Musk, as the owner of the X platform, should silence accurate criticism only underscores how far she has fallen from any pretense of impartiality or integrity.”

UN Watch has long tracked Albanese’s pattern of conduct, including her appearances before audiences linked to Hamas, her refusal to condemn Palestinian terrorism while systematically demonizing Israel, and her violations of the UN Code of Conduct for Special Procedures Mandate Holders. The organization has repeatedly called for her removal and documented that her purported term renewal was carried out in violation of UN rules.

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UN Watch is a Geneva-based human rights organization founded in 1993 to monitor UN compliance with the principles of its Charter. It is accredited as a Non-Governmental Organization (NGO) in Special Consultative Status to the UN Economic and Social Council (ECOSOC) and as an Associate NGO to the UN Department of Public Information (DPI).