Which companies have stopped advertising on Elon Musk’s X since the anti-Semitism crisis?
A rash of companies pulled their advertising from the social media platform formerly known as Twitter after owner Elon Musk agreed with an antisemitic post.
Since Elon Musk took over Twitter, there have been accusations that hate speech is increasing on the platform. The tech billionaire immediately gutted various departments of staff, including those that work in content moderation. Concerns over the future of the social media platform, which has been renamed X, saw companies reduce their advertising campaigns.
However, this week a report by a media watchdog informing companies that their adverts were being placed next to pro-nazi posts and hate speech content along with Musk saying that he agreed with a post that referenced an antisemitic conspiracy theory have sparked a major exodus of ad dollars.
Major companies yank advertising from Elon Musk’s X in new anti-Semitism crisis
Prominent companies began pulling their advertisements from X on Thursday, a day after Musk replied “[y]ou have said the actual truth” to a post that accused Jewish people of pushing the “exact kind of dialectical hatred against whites that they claim to want people to stop using against them.” The user’s post also claimed that Jews are supporting the immigration of “hordes of minorities” a reference to the “Great Replacement” conspiracy theory.
This false theory was among the hateful ideas referenced by the gunman who committed the deadliest antisemitic attack in US history, killing 11 people at a Pittsburgh synagogue in 2018.
The post by the head of Tesla and SpaceX drew immediate backlash, condemnation and calls from Jewish rabbis and activists for major companies to halt advertising on the social media platform. A report on Thursday by Media Matters for America, a left-leaning non-profit watchdog, pointed out that several prominent companies’ ads were shown next to content promoting Adolf Hitler and the Nazi Party.
So far, Apple, Comcast, Disney, IBM, Lions Gate Entertainment, NBCUniversal, Paramount Global and Warner Bros Discovery have yanked their ads from X.
Musk threatens “thermonuclear lawsuit” against media watchdog
On Saturday, Musk vowed in a post on X to file a “thermonuclear lawsuit” when “the split second court opens on Monday.” He threatened to include in the legal action “ALL those who colluded in this fraudulent attack on our company.”
Earlier this year, Musk threatened to sue the Anti-Defamation League (ADL) for “trying to kill” his social media platform “by falsely accusing it & me of being anti-Semitic.” The billionaire blamed X’s financial woes on ADL applying pressure on companies not to do business on the platform.
Ad revenue was down as much as 60 percent a year after his acquisition. And he recently told employees that the company was now worth roughly $19 billion. Musk bought Twitter for $44 billion last year.