Major advertisers IBM and the European Union have ceased advertising on Elon Musk’s X/Twitter social media platform due to escalating concerns over antisemitic content and “hate speech.”
AP News reports that IBM and the EUrecently made the decision to withdraw their advertising from X/Twitter owned by billionaire Elon Musk. This significant move comes in response to growing concerns about the presence of pro-Nazi content and other forms of hate speech on the platform, which have been highlighted by Musk’s own controversial tweets that the organizations view as endorsing antisemitic conspiracy theories.
View of the IBM booth on day 3 of the GSMA Mobile World Congress on March 02, 2022 in Barcelona, Spain. Photo by Xavi Torrent/Getty Images)
Elon Musk (Photo by STR/NurPhoto via Getty Images)
Breitbart News recently reported on the controversy of Musk replying with his agreement to a tweet widely viewed as antisemitic:
An X/Twitter user appeared to push the “great replacement” conspiracy theory, claiming that Jewish communities “have been pushing the exact kind of dialectical hatred against whites that they claim to want people to stop using against them.”
“I’m deeply disinterested in giving the tiniest shit now about western Jewish populations coming to the disturbing realization that those hordes of minorities that support flooding their country don’t exactly like them too much,” the X/Twitter user added.
Musk responded to this post writing, “You have said the actual truth.”
IBM’s decision was triggered by a report revealing that its advertisements were being displayed alongside material praising Nazis. This marks a significant setback for the platform as it attempts to regain the trust of major brands and secure crucial advertising revenue. In a statement, IBM said: “IBM has zero tolerance for hate speech and discrimination and we have immediately suspended all advertising on X while we investigate this entirely unacceptable situation.”
Similarly, the EU’s executive branch announced a pause in its advertising on X, along with other platforms, citing a surge in hate speech as a primary reason. This stance aligns with the EU’s broader efforts to address online hate speech and misinformation.
In contrast, X/Twitter CEO Linda Yaccarino has emphasized the platform’s commitment to combating antisemitism and discrimination, stating there is no place for such content in the world. However, despite these assurances, the platform’s approach to managing sensitive content remains under scrutiny.
The AP contributed to this report.
Read more at AP News here.
Lucas Nolan is a reporter for Breitbart News covering issues of free speech and online censorship.