IBM Suspends Advertising on Elon Musk's X Platform After Ads Appear on Pro-Nazi Profiles

Tech giant IBM has suspended its advertising relationship with Elon Musk's X platform after one of its ads was found to be appearing alongside pro-Nazi posts. The decision to pull the advertising came after media watchdog Media Matters published a report showing adverts for technology, computing, and entertainment brands appearing next to posts containing pro-Nazi, pro-Hitler, and antisemitic content on X. Advertisements from IBM, Apple, Xfinity, Bravo, and Oracle were all seen next to posts endorsing Nazi and Hitler ideologies.

IBM, which has faced criticism in the past for its links to the Nazi party during World War II, immediately suspended all advertising on X while they investigate the situation. A spokesperson for IBM stated, "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."

However, an X spokesperson told CNN that the brands did not specifically target the pro-Nazi accounts in the watchdog report, nor did the company intentionally place their advertising there. The spokesperson stated that they have reviewed the accounts mentioned in the report and confirmed that they will no longer be monetizable, meaning advertising cannot run on their profiles.

Media Matters research, which revealed the placement of ads alongside antisemitic content, has been challenged by X news account @xDaily. They argued that the watchdog simply scrolled down on the profiles of antisemitic accounts until they found an ad. @xDaily blamed X's automated Ad Adjacency tools for failing to determine if a post is antisemitic, as well as the ability for users to monetize ads running on their profiles.

In response to the antisemitic posts, Elon Musk did not offer a direct comment but responded to @xDaily's analysis by calling Media Matters an "evil organization." This sparked widespread backlash online, with many users criticizing Musk's response. However, Musk later backtracked on his initial post, stating that "decolonization necessarily implies a Jewish genocide; thus, it is unacceptable to any reasonable person."

X CEO Linda Yaccarino, who had promised companies that their ads would remain protected from hate discourse on X, reiterated her stance against antisemitism in a post on Thursday. She wrote, "X has also been extremely clear about our efforts to combat antisemitism and discrimination. There's no place for it anywhere in the world - it's ugly and wrong."

The New York Times reported that X's CEO and staff have been working to address the fallout caused by Musk's controversial posts, as sales employees have been fielding calls from concerned clients. This is not the first time Musk has been accused of engaging with content promoting antisemitism on X.

The Independent reached out to IBM and the other companies mentioned in the Media Matters report for comment. IBM stated that it had suspended all advertising on X following the report's findings, while Apple, Oracle, and Xfinity had yet to respond.

Musk's ownership of X has resulted in a decrease in content moderation, leading to a significant increase in hate speech on the platform, according to civil rights groups. Reuters reported that monthly US ad revenue on X has declined at least 55% year-over-year since Musk acquired the company in October 2022, citing third-party data.

Antisemitism has been on the rise globally, with a nearly 400% increase in antisemitic incidents in the United States following the outbreak of the Israel-Hamas conflict in October. The ADL has called it dangerous to use one's influence to validate and promote antisemitic theories, referring to Musk's endorsement of an antisemitic post.