Advertiser Exodus Intensifies Crisis at X Following Musk’s Antisemitic Controversy

In a remarkable turn of events, major advertisers are severing ties with X after Musk publicly endorsed an antisemitic conspiracy theory recently.

This triggered significant repercussions, with several high-profile brands like Warner Bros, Lionsgate, Comcast, NBCUniversal, Disney, and Paramount moving away from the platform with their advertising support. Reportedly, even Apple has joined the exodus.

The revolt from advertisers raises serious questions about the future of the social media platform. This further intensifies the mounting criticism against Musk for endorsing extremist beliefs.

The mass exodus comes at a time when IBM decided to stop advertising on X after the company found its content along with content supporting Nazi beliefs. This prompted the MNC to dub the situation “entirely unacceptable”.

X Continues To Face A Major Crisis

The rapid withdrawal of reputed brands for advertising marks the intensity of the crisis X is facing. After IBM, Apple decided to withdraw its advertisements.

Even advertisement content from established brands like NBC, Comcast, and Oracle appeared alongside offensive content. This explains the background that triggered the industry-wide backlash for X.

Linda Yaccarino, the CEO of X, focussed on the commitment of the company to combat discrimination and anti-Semitism in a post on Friday, stating that X is extremely clear about combating antisemitism and discrimination.

The situation further intensified as Media Matters, a watchdog group, carried out an evaluation and found that advertisements were being monetized by pro-Nazi accounts from Oracle, NBC, Comcast, and Apple. Oracle has yet to respond to the matter.

X Responds To The Allegations

In response to the allegations, X stated that the pro-Nazi accounts that the Media Matters report had identified would not be able to monetize advertisements any longer.

At the moment, reputed brands don’t feel safe publishing their advertisements on X.

This implies that such pages will no longer be able to run advertisements. However, the countermeasures being taken by X may fall short of salvaging its reputation since advertisers continue to move away.

It was back in August that the crisis started shaping up for X. At the outset, Gilead Sciences and NCTA, the Internet and Television Association, refrained from spending on the platform since their advertisements were displayed along with objectionable content.

This trend of advertisement displays raises questions about the content moderation practices adopted by X.

The latest developments also raise concerns about the profitability of X, as expected as early as next year. The social media platform needs to address two challenges, including its efforts to rebuild trust with advertisers and moderate content.