The Washington Post has joined the growing list of companies halting advertising on X/Twitter, a decision influenced by recent controversies surrounding Elon Musk.
Mediaite reports that following allegations of “hate speech” and antisemitism across the platform, the Washington Post has become the latest advertisers to pull its ads from X (formerly known as Twitter.) This decision comes in the wake of a series of controversies linked to Elon Musk, the owner of the platform. The Washingtonian’s Andrew Beaujon first reported this development on Tuesday, highlighting the growing concerns among major advertisers about the direction of the platform under Musk’s leadership.
Elon Musk and Benjamin Netanyahu in Israel (Amos Ben-Gershom (GPO))
The pause in advertising is a reaction to Musk’s recent actions and posts, which have included sharing a meme that endorses the “Pizzagate” conspiracy theory, a move that has been widely criticized. The controversy escalated when Musk deleted the tweet, but the damage was already done, with major advertisers rethinking their association with the platform, a continuation of an ongoing trend.
Notably, the continued loss of advertisers indicated that Musk’s attempts at damage control, which include suing Media Matters and visiting Israel, have not yet proven effective.
The Post‘s decision was confirmed by a spokesperson, who noted that the suspension of ads would take effect this week. The exact financial impact of this decision on X/Twitter is unclear, as the spokesperson did not disclose the amount spent on advertising on the platform. This move follows a trend of other major companies and media houses reevaluating their presence on Musk’s platform, driven by concerns over brand safety and the platform’s content moderation policies. Along with the advertising halt, some companies are no longer posting on their X/Twitter accounts at all. Companies including Disney, Paramount, and other entertainment giants have gone dark on the platform.
While many users would argue that losing woke Disney is a benefit to the average American, social media companies live or die by their engagement and active user numbers, so the loss of large accounts with massive followings will hurt X/Twitter’s metrics, which in turn make the platform less enticing to remaining advertisers.
Read more at Mediaite here.
Lucas Nolan is a reporter for Breitbart News covering issues of free speech and online censorship.