Move follows Elon Musk posting that an antisemitic social-media post was ‘the actual truth’
By
Joe Flint
and
Patience Haggin
Updated Nov. 17, 2023 9:24 pm ET
The exodus of major advertisers adds to the business challenges Elon Musk faces in managing X. PHOTO: CARLOS BARRIA/REUTERS
Apple AAPL -0.01%decrease
and several major entertainment companies stopped advertising on Elon Musk’s X after the social-media network’s owner described an antisemitic post this week as “the actual truth” and again lashed out at the Anti-Defamation League.
Among those pausing ads on the social-media platform are
Disney DIS -0.38%decrease
,
Warner Bros. Discovery WBD 3.78%increase
,
Paramount Global PARA 3.37%increase
, NBCUniversal and its parent
Comcast
and
Lions Gate Entertainment LGF.B 1.14%increase
, people close to those companies said.
The companies followed tech giant
IBM
, which stopped ads on X, formerly known as Twitter, on Thursday.
The exodus of major advertisers adds to the business challenges Musk faces in managing X, which has lost users and revenue since he took it over last year. Downloads of the X app have also fallen.
A spokesman for X didn’t respond to a request for comment. Axios previously reported that Apple halted its advertising on X.
Musk agreed with a post this week on X that said Jewish people hold a “dialectical hatred” of white people, eliciting a new round of criticism that he promotes antisemitic views. He later seemed to qualify his response.
Musk has had run-ins before with Apple, one of the social-media platform’s biggest advertisers. A year ago Musk, the world’s richest man, said Apple had “mostly stopped advertising” and claimed Apple threatened to remove the company’s app from the iPhone maker’sApp Store.
But after Apple Chief Executive Tim Cook met with Musk at Apple’s headquarters, the two men appeared to resolve their differences.
Musk subsequently pointed to Apple’s continued business with the platform to suggest it was safe for others. “It’s worth noting that…Apple has remained a major advertiser,” Musk said at an event in April. He also pointed to Disney’s continued presence, saying the entertainment company “has remained a major advertiser—they literally advertise children’s shows on Twitter—and they wouldn’t do that if it was filled with hate speech.”
IBM said in a statement Thursday that it was pulling ads after a report from Media Matters for America showing IBM’s ads appeared next to pro-Nazi posts on X. IBM said it had “zero tolerance for hate speech and discrimination” and was immediately suspending ads as it investigated “this entirely unacceptable situation.”
Organizations including the ADL, the Jewish advocacy group that fights antisemitism, and the Center for Countering Digital Hate have pointed to heightened bigotry on the platform since Musk took charge. Musk has fought back, threatening to sue the ADL and filing a suit against the Center for Countering Digital Hate.
The controversy is the latest challenge for X Chief Executive Linda Yaccarino, who joined the company from NBCUniversal last June in part to reassure advertisers that the platform was a safe space for their marketing efforts
Five months into the job, the extraordinary balancing act of Yaccarino’s role is becoming clear: As she woos advertisers to spend on X, her boss keeps throwing barbs that dismay them.
Yaccarino posted on X that the service has been “extremely clear about our efforts to combat antisemitism and discrimination,” adding: “There’s no place for it anywhere in the world—it’s ugly and wrong.”
By
Joe Flint
and
Patience Haggin
Updated Nov. 17, 2023 9:24 pm ET
The exodus of major advertisers adds to the business challenges Elon Musk faces in managing X. PHOTO: CARLOS BARRIA/REUTERS
Apple AAPL -0.01%decrease
and several major entertainment companies stopped advertising on Elon Musk’s X after the social-media network’s owner described an antisemitic post this week as “the actual truth” and again lashed out at the Anti-Defamation League.
Among those pausing ads on the social-media platform are
Disney DIS -0.38%decrease
,
Warner Bros. Discovery WBD 3.78%increase
,
Paramount Global PARA 3.37%increase
, NBCUniversal and its parent
Comcast
and
Lions Gate Entertainment LGF.B 1.14%increase
, people close to those companies said.
The companies followed tech giant
IBM
, which stopped ads on X, formerly known as Twitter, on Thursday.
The exodus of major advertisers adds to the business challenges Musk faces in managing X, which has lost users and revenue since he took it over last year. Downloads of the X app have also fallen.
A spokesman for X didn’t respond to a request for comment. Axios previously reported that Apple halted its advertising on X.
Musk agreed with a post this week on X that said Jewish people hold a “dialectical hatred” of white people, eliciting a new round of criticism that he promotes antisemitic views. He later seemed to qualify his response.
Musk has had run-ins before with Apple, one of the social-media platform’s biggest advertisers. A year ago Musk, the world’s richest man, said Apple had “mostly stopped advertising” and claimed Apple threatened to remove the company’s app from the iPhone maker’sApp Store.
But after Apple Chief Executive Tim Cook met with Musk at Apple’s headquarters, the two men appeared to resolve their differences.
Musk subsequently pointed to Apple’s continued business with the platform to suggest it was safe for others. “It’s worth noting that…Apple has remained a major advertiser,” Musk said at an event in April. He also pointed to Disney’s continued presence, saying the entertainment company “has remained a major advertiser—they literally advertise children’s shows on Twitter—and they wouldn’t do that if it was filled with hate speech.”
IBM said in a statement Thursday that it was pulling ads after a report from Media Matters for America showing IBM’s ads appeared next to pro-Nazi posts on X. IBM said it had “zero tolerance for hate speech and discrimination” and was immediately suspending ads as it investigated “this entirely unacceptable situation.”
Organizations including the ADL, the Jewish advocacy group that fights antisemitism, and the Center for Countering Digital Hate have pointed to heightened bigotry on the platform since Musk took charge. Musk has fought back, threatening to sue the ADL and filing a suit against the Center for Countering Digital Hate.
The controversy is the latest challenge for X Chief Executive Linda Yaccarino, who joined the company from NBCUniversal last June in part to reassure advertisers that the platform was a safe space for their marketing efforts
Five months into the job, the extraordinary balancing act of Yaccarino’s role is becoming clear: As she woos advertisers to spend on X, her boss keeps throwing barbs that dismay them.
Yaccarino posted on X that the service has been “extremely clear about our efforts to combat antisemitism and discrimination,” adding: “There’s no place for it anywhere in the world—it’s ugly and wrong.”
