Several major brands, including Apple, IBM, Disney, Lionsgate, and Warner Bros, have decided to suspend their advertisements on the social media platform X (formerly Twitter) after Elon Musk endorsed an anti-Semitic post claiming that “members of the Jewish community were stoking hatred against white people.”

IBM made the decision to pull its advertising from X on November 16 after Media Matters identified it as one of several prominent companies whose ads were displayed alongside tweets promoting antisemitism. IBM emphasised its zero-tolerance policy for hate speech and discrimination and suspended all advertising on X pending an investigation.

Apple, a significant advertiser on X, reportedly spent as much as $100 million a year on the platform as of November 2022. The company suspended its ads on the platform as they had reportedly appeared alongside tweets praising Adolf Hitler and the Nazis. 

The motion picture production and distribution company Lionsgate specifically mentioned the suspension of advertising on X due to Musk’s recent antisemitic tweets. Warner Bros and Comcast/NBCUniversal also announced a pause in advertising on X following the controversy involving Elon Musk. 

Musk faced criticism after reportedly expressing agreement with an anti-Semitic conspiracy theory on the platform. In response to a user attributing the rise in online anti-Semitism to Jews and accusing them of promoting “hatred against whites,” Musk replied, “You have said the actual truth.”

Elon Musk’s endorsement of such content has triggered widespread condemnation and raised concerns about the potential amplification of hateful narratives on social media platforms. The White House accused Elon Musk of repeating a “hideous” anti-Semitic lie on X. 

The decision by these major technology and media corporations to suspend advertising underscores the growing importance of responsible content moderation on social media platforms and the need to address concerns related to brand association with inappropriate or offensive material on social media platforms.