ISTANBUL

Twitter and Tesla's billionaire CEO Elon Musk accused media outlets of racism against white and Asian people after several US newspapers dropped the Dilbert comic strip over racist comments by its creator.

Musk's remarks on Sunday came after cartoonist Scott Adams called Black Americans a "hate group" last week, in response to a poll conducted by the conservative firm Rasmussen Reports, in which Black respondents were asked to agree or disagree with the statement "It's OK to be white."

The comic strip Dilbert has been stopped running from various US newspapers after Adams' remarks about Black people, who urged white people to "get the hell away" from Black people on his YouTube channel Wednesday.

Musk replied to a tweet on the debate, saying "the media is racist."

"For a *very* long time, US media was racist against non-white people, now they're racist against whites & Asians," Musk tweeted.

"Same thing happened with elite colleges & high schools in America. Maybe they can try not being racist," he added.

The USA Today Network, which publishes several newspapers across the country, said they would "no longer publish the 'Dilbert' comic due to recent discriminatory comments by its creator."

The Los Angeles Times also "decided to cease publication" of Dilbert after Adams "made racist comments in a YouTube livestream Feb. 22, offensive remarks that The Times rejects," the paper said in a statement Saturday.

The Washington Post also dropped the comic strip in light of Adams' "recent statements promoting segregation," paper said.

Adams is an American cartoonist who created Dilbert, which debuted on April 16, 1989. It is known for its sarcastic humor featuring engineer Dilbert as the main character in a white-collar, micromanaged office.