Just days after X owner Elon Musk agreed to post brandishing a “hideous” antisemitic conspiracy theory on the platform, several major advertisers have paused their ads on the site.
This includes Walt Disney Co, Warner Bros Discovery and NBCUniversal parent Comcast.
A pause in revenue?
Musk’s endorsement of the post may leave some impact on X’s (formerly Twitter) revenue. On Wednesday (Nov 8), the X owner said that the user who referenced the “Great Replacement” conspiracy theory was speaking “the actual truth.”
This was labelled “hideous,” and an “abhorrent promotion of antisemitic and racist hate” by the White House.
Due to Musk’s enthusiastic agreement with the antisemitic post, several major X advertisers have announced that they will pause their advertisements on the social media site.
As per an Axios report, Apple said it will pause “all advertising on X”.
Media Matters reports that the iPhone maker’s ad ran beside tweets praising Adolf Hitler and the Nazis. Not just Apple, ads for brands like Bravo, Oracle, Xfinity, and IBM were also seen beside such posts.
IBM has also suspended advertising on X. In a statement to the Financial Times, the tech company said that it has “suspended all advertising on X while we investigate this entirely unacceptable situation.”
Furthermore, as per The Guardian citing media reports, Warner Bros, Paramount, Sony Pictures, Disney and Comcast/NBCUniversal have also taken similar steps.
Troubles mount for Musk
As Musk faces a serious dip in X’s advertising revenues, on Thursday, a US Federal Judge ruled that he cannot intervene in the dispute between him and the FTC (Federal Trade Commission).
US Magistrate Judge Thomas Hixon rejected X’s attempt to invalidate a longstanding privacy settlement with the FTC. CNN reports that he said that the District Court for the Northern District of California lacks the authority to grant X’s request.
This means the Tesla CEO may be forced to cooperate with federal investigators looking into X’s business decisions, which the regulator allege may have jeopardised user security and privacy.
(With inputs from agencies)
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