Disney and Lionsgate among major companies pulling X advertising

Spokespeople for Disney, Comcast, Lionsgate and Paramount confirmed they have suspended advertising on the platform. Apple’s decision to pull its advertising from X was reported by Axios.

Thursday’s report from the left-wing nonprofit group Media Matters for America found that Elon Musk’s social media platform placed ads for major brands such as Apple alongside anti-Semitic content, such as memes depicting Nazism as a spiritual awakening and quotes from Adolf Hitler presented in an inspirational style.

After the report was published, IBM announced Thursday that it would stop advertising on X. In a statement, the technology company said it had “zero tolerance for hate speech and discrimination.”

“We have immediately suspended all advertising on X while we investigate this completely unacceptable situation,” IBM said in a statement.

Other companies identified on the Media Matters list – such as Coca-Cola, Chipotle, Best Buy, Meta, Oracle, General Motors and Xfinity – did not immediately respond to requests for comment.

Anti-Semitic content on social media has increased significantly over the past month, following Hamas’ attack on Israel on October 7. Musk has amplified anti-Semitic content on his platform in recent days, responding to an X user who said Jews support “hordes of minorities” and promote “hatred against white people.”

Musk replied: “You told the real truth. »

A Lionsgate spokesperson said the company suspended ads on X Friday afternoon, saying the decision was prompted by “Elon’s tweet.” Lionsgate is an entertainment and film distribution company.

The company defections come about a year after Musk bought Twitter for $44 billion, aiming to rid it of what he called a “woke mind virus.” As Musk continues to ease the site’s speech restrictions, insiders have said the company’s financial outlook is “dire” as the platform struggles to attract and retain major advertisers.

The string of companies leaving the platform this week also presents another challenge for CEO Linda Yaccarino, who is struggling to revive the company’s advertising business. In a message posted Thursday, she says that “X’s point of view has always been very clear: discrimination by everyone should STOP at all levels.”

“I think this is something we can and should all agree on,” she wrote. “Regarding this platform, X has also been extremely clear about our efforts to combat anti-Semitism and discrimination. There is no place for this anywhere in the world – it is ugly and bad. Complete stop.”

In several posts on X, Musk appeared to dismiss criticism of his comments by agreeing with various supporters who had rushed to his defense.

“At the risk of stating the obvious, anyone advocating the genocide of *any* group will be suspended from this platform,” he wrote.

– Will Oremus contributed to this article.