Another advertiser bids farewell to X: IBM announced its decision to cease advertising on the platform in response to its ads appearing alongside posts that either downplayed or praised Nazi actions. This move came after the non-profit organization Media Matters brought attention to the issue.
“IBM has zero tolerance for hate speech and discrimination. We immediately suspended all advertising on X while investigating this completely unacceptable situation,” the company told the Financial Times.
According to Media Matters’ observations, ads from Apple and Oracle also surfaced alongside Nazi-related posts. Both companies, as per the Financial Times, have not yet commented, while Comcast intends to investigate the matter.
CEO Linda Yaccarino reassured that it is X’s stance “that discrimination by anyone should stop.” Regarding their platform, “X has also been very clear about our efforts to combat anti-Semitism and discrimination. There is no place for it anywhere in the world – it is ugly and wrong. Period.”
Fresh allegations of anti-Semitism against Elon Musk
Shortly before this, CTO and owner Elon Musk himself faced criticism after publicly expressing agreement with an anti-Semitic post on X, suggesting that “Jews hate whites.”
This isn’t the first instance of Musk being accused of anti-Semitism. In May 2023, the Anti-Defamation League (ADL) warned about the consequences of his language after he likened businessman George Soros, central to anti-Semitic conspiracy theories, to a comic book villain.
In return, Musk threatened the ADL with legal action in September 2023. He directly attributed the decline in advertising revenue for his renamed social media platform to the ADL’s criticism of the increased number of hate posts.
X loses customers, users, and value
According to a survey by the industry association Bitkom, German companies have been using the platform less and less since Elon Musk took over in October 2022, including for paid advertisements. This decline is also linked to the “rise in fake news, the increase in hate speech, or the expression of sometimes extreme political views,” stated Bitkom.
The value of the platform has halved since Elon Musk’s acquisition in October 2022 – partly due to the decrease in advertising clients.
In the past, Elon Musk hasn’t hesitated to sharply criticize former and current advertising clients. When Apple briefly halted advertising campaigns on Twitter after the acquisition, he targeted the company. However, he has yet to comment on IBM’s departure.
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