A torrent of prominent brands halted their advertising on X on Friday, dealing a massive reputational blow to Elon Musk’s social media company after his public embrace this week of an antisemitic conspiracy theory favored by White supremacists.
The high-profile advertiser revolt includes some of the world’s largest media companies, such as Disney, Paramount, NBCUniversal, Comcast, Lionsgate and Warner Bros.
X also reportedly lost Apple, according to multiple news outlets including Axios, which first reported Apple’s withdrawal.
“IBM has zero tolerance for hate speech and discrimination and we have immediately suspended all advertising on X while we investigate this entirely unacceptable situation,” an IBM spokesperson said.
In a social media post on Friday, X CEO Linda Yaccarino wrote that “X has been extremely clear about our efforts to combat antisemitism and discrimination.
“At risk of stating the obvious, anyone advocating the genocide of *any* group will be suspended from this platform,” Musk wrote on X Friday evening.
In August, two other brands, NCTA — the Internet and Television Association — and Gilead Sciences paused their spending on X after their ads were also run alongside pro-Nazi content. »
