X ad boycott gathers pace amid antisemitism storm
- November 18, 2023
An advertising boycott of social media platform X is gathering pace amid an antisemitism storm on the site formerly known as Twitter. Apple, Disney, Comcast and Warner Brothers Discovery have all halted advertising on X, US media report, following hot on the heels of IBM. The European Commission, TV network Paramount and movie studio Lionsgate have also pulled ad dollars from X. It comes after X owner Elon Musk amplified an antisemitic trope. The corporate boycott has also been picking up steam in the wake of an investigation by a US group which flagged ads appearing next to pro-Nazi posts on X. A spokesperson for X told the BBC on Thursday that the company does not intentionally place brands "next to this kind of content" and the platform is dedicated to combating antisemitism. Mr Musk came under fire on Wednesday after he replied to a post sharing an antisemitic conspiracy theory, calling it "actual truth". The billionaire Tesla and SpaceX entrepreneur denied he is antisemitic and later said his comments referred not to all Jewish people but to groups like the Anti-Defamation League (ADL) and other unspecified "Jewish communities". The White House denounced Mr Musk's endorsement of the post. "We condemn this abhorrent promotion of antisemitic and racist hate in the strongest terms," said spokesperson Andrew Bates. On Friday evening, the ADL - one of the most vocal critics of how X moderates incendiary content - offered rare praise for Mr Musk's steps to fight hate on the platform. Mr Musk had posted on X that anyone using terms such as "from the river to the sea" - which the ADL has described as a coded call for Israel's destruction - could be suspended from the platform. ADL chief executive Jonathan Greenblatt replied that this was "an important and welcome move". X chief executive Linda Yaccarino posted on Friday evening that the platform had been "extremely clear about our efforts to combat antisemitism and discrimination. There's absolutely no place for it anywhere in the world".
