IBM suspends ads on X after ads appeared next to pro-Nazi content: ‘Unacceptable situation’
IBM said Thursday it had immediately suspended all advertising on Elon Musk-owned X after a report found its ads were placed next to content promoting Adolf Hitler and the Nazi Party.
The report comes a day after Musk endorsed an anti-Semitic post on X that falsely claimed members of the Jewish community were stoking hatred against white people.
Media watchdog Media Matters said it found corporate ads from IBM, Apple, Oracle and Comcast’s Xfinity were being placed alongside anti-Semitic content.
“IBM has zero tolerance for hate speech and discrimination and we have immediately suspended all advertising on X while we investigate this totally unacceptable situation,” IBM said in a statement.
Apple, Oracle and Xfinity did not immediately respond to requests for comment.
X said its system does not intentionally place brands “actively next to this type of content” and that content cited by Media Matters would no longer be able to generate revenue from its posts.
Musk’s comments Wednesday on the social media platform are not the first time he has engaged in discussions that reference anti-Semitic tropes or conspiracy theories. X declined to comment, referring to a statement from CEO Linda Yaccarino released Thursday.
“In regards to this platform, X has also been very clear about our efforts to combat anti-Semitism and discrimination. There is no place for it anywhere in the world: it is ugly and wrong. Full stop,” Yaccarino said.
On Wednesday, after being questioned by another user about targeting all Jews, Musk attacked the Anti-Defamation League, a nonprofit organization that works to fight anti-Semitism, which he had previously accused without evidence of being responsible for the drop in advertising in X.
ADL Executive Director Jonathan Greenblatt responded on
Advertisers have abandoned the site since Musk bought it and reduced content moderation, resulting in a dramatic increase in hate speech toward X, civil rights groups said.
Reuters reported in October that
Musk is also CEO of electric car maker Tesla, which has been hit by several trials alleging rampant racial or sexual harassment of workers.
Anti-Semitism has been on the rise in recent years in the United States and around the world. Following the outbreak of war between Israel and the Palestinian Islamist group Hamas, which attacked Israel on October 7, anti-Semitic incidents in the United States increased nearly 400% from the previous year period, the ADL said.
