The blowback over Elon Musk’s endorsement of an anti-Semitic conspiracy theory about X gained momentum on Friday, when several major advertisers on his social media platform suspended spending after his comments.
Disney said it was suspending spending on X, as did Lionsgate, the film and entertainment distribution company. Apple, which was on track to spend $180 million on X last year, also suspended advertising on the platform, a person with knowledge of the situation said. They followed IBM, which cut its spending on X on Thursday.
Musk, who bought Twitter last year and renamed it X, has been under scrutiny for months for allowing and even stoking anti-Semitic abuse on the site. That was compounded on Wednesday when the tech billionaire agreed with a post on They say they want people to stop using it against them. ” and supporting the immigration of “hordes of minorities.”
“You have told the real truth,” Musk said. answered.
Jewish groups have compared the statement in the original post to a belief known as replacement theory, a conspiracy theory that posits that non-white immigrants, organized by Jews, are intended to replace the white race. That idea fueled Robert Bowers, who raged against Jews online before killing 11 worshipers at the Tree of Life synagogue in Pittsburgh in 2018.
On Friday, the White House condemned Musk, 52, for pushing the anti-Jewish conspiracy theory. White House spokesman Andrew Bates said in a statement that it was “unacceptable to repeat at any time the horrible lie behind the most fatal act of anti-Semitism in American history, much less a month after the deadliest day for the United States.” Jewish people since the Holocaust.”
A spokesperson for X declined to comment on the ad breaks. axios previously reported on Apple’s decision, and Bloomberg previously reported on Lionsgate’s suspension.
Linda Yaccarino, CEO of X, posted on the site Thursday that the company had been “extremely clear about our efforts to combat anti-Semitism and discrimination.” But on Friday, Musk agreed with a post on X that suggested advertisers like IBM were pulling out of the platform to save face.
Advertisers have been nervous about X since Musk bought the social media service last fall and said he wanted more freedom of expression and would relax content moderation rules. That meant that, in theory, the platform could place brand ads next to posts with offensive or hate speech.
Many companies, including General Motors and Volkswagen, have at various points in the past year objected to their promotions appearing alongside a well-documented rise in hate speech, misinformation and foreign propaganda on X. In April, Musk said that nearly all Advertisers had returned, without indicating whether they were spending at the same level; He later noted that advertising revenue had fallen by 50 percent.
Musk also stopped threatening any advertiser who dared to suspend their spending with a “thermonuclear name and shame” until wooing them by choosing Yaccarino, a former top advertising executive at NBCUniversal, to replace him as CEO. She picked public fights with big spenders like Apple and shifted sales executives who were tasked with maintaining relationships in the advertising industry. Major advertising companies, such as IPG, urged their clients to stay away from X.
Advertising had long accounted for about 90 percent of Twitter’s revenue before Musk bought the company. Last month, X told employees that the company was valued at $19 billion. That was less than the $44 billion Musk paid.
IBM, which cut about $1 million in advertising spending it had committed to X for the rest of the year, said Thursday it had “zero tolerance for hate speech and discrimination.” The technology company acted later a report this week from Media Matters for America, a left-wing advocacy group, which said ads for companies like Apple and IBM were appearing in X alongside posts supporting white nationalism and Nazism.
Mr. Musk aware Thursday night that “Media Matters is an evil organization.”
Angelo Carusone, president and CEO of Media Matters, said Musk “calling us evil” for pointing out what was in X was “no different than any right-wing narrative we highlight.”
He added that X was “not only going to lose money to Apple, but also the cornerstone of its strategy to attract advertisers.”
Kate Conger contributed with reports.
