Computer maker IBM stops its Advertising on Elon Musk’s X online platform after the company’s ads were placed there alongside Nazi posts. IBM does not tolerate hate speech and is investigating this “absolutely unacceptable situation,” a spokesperson said. Initially, the computer company wanted to spend about a million dollars on X in the last quarter, so New York Times citing internal messages from the platform reported.
A few hours earlier, the Media Matters organization had shown how ads from IBM, Apple and the software company Oracle, among others, appeared on X, along with messages with positive statements about Adolf Hitler and the ideology of the National Socialists emerged.
Companies have little influence over exactly which posts are placed next to their ads. Advertisements tend to be displayed with reference to age groups, specific areas or interests of users. To avoid a negative environment for their brands, advertisers primarily rely on X to constantly keep hate speech off the platform.
Other online services have also had similar problems in the past with their advertising clients, such as YouTube, Google’s video platform. At that time, they reinforced content supervision to recover advertising clients.
X’s advertising revenue fell by half
Since Musk a year ago X, at that time under the name TwitterAfter purchasing it, many businesses are concerned about its ads and stay away from the platform or limit their spending. Musk has said several times that advertising revenue is only half of what it was during the Twitter era. X boss Linda Yaccarino, appointed by Musk, promised advertisers a safe environment.
Musk represents the political views of the American right and accused Twitter’s former leaders of repressing them. He promised more freedom of expression: all statements that do not violate the law should be allowed. At the same time, his dismissal actions greatly affected the Twitter teams that were supposed to ensure the elimination of hate speech.
The owner of X himself sparked a new controversy: he supported a publication that spread an anti-Semitic conspiracy theory. He said, among other things, that Jews were spreading “hatred against whites.” Musk wrote in Wednesday’s post that it contained the “real truth.”
Musk later added that he was referring to “some groups” such as the Jewish organization Anti-Defamation League (ADL) that “effectively spread anti-white racism and anti-Asian racism.” In other statements, Musk reiterated that, in his opinion, there is a problem of racism against whites. The billionaire’s pro-Russian statements and his posts about the war between Israel and Hamas also sparked more controversy.
Musk has more than 160 million followers on X. After previous criticism, he stated that he did not hold anti-Semitic views. Yaccarino wrote in X on Thursday that discrimination on all sides must stop.
Computer maker IBM stops its Advertising on Elon Musk’s X online platform after the company’s ads were placed there alongside Nazi posts. IBM does not tolerate hate speech and is investigating this “absolutely unacceptable situation,” a spokesperson said. Initially, the computer company wanted to spend about a million dollars on X in the last quarter, so New York Times citing internal messages from the platform reported.
A few hours earlier, the Media Matters organization had shown how ads from IBM, Apple and the software company Oracle, among others, appeared on X, along with messages with positive statements about Adolf Hitler and the ideology of the National Socialists emerged.