Apple Stops Advertising on Elon Musk’s X After Antisemitism Controversy

X, previously known as Twitter, is facing more trouble due to its owner, Elon Musk. The social media platform has been inundated with hate posts, propaganda, and false information since the Israel-Hamas conflict began. However, several brands have decided to stop advertising on the platform, citing antisemitism as a major concern. IBM, Disney, Warner Bros., Discovery, and the EU were among the first to withdraw their ads, and now Apple has also joined them, according to a report. Interestingly, a significant number of advertisers left after Elon Musk expressed support for a post that accused Jewish people of harboring hatred towards white people.

According to a report by Axios, Apple decided to stop running ads on the platform after Musk espoused “anti-Semitic conspiracy theories” and Apple ads were shown alongside messages promoting “far-right” political ideologies. Earlier, the New York Times reported that Disney had pulled ads from X, while CNBC reported the same for Warner Bros., Discovery, Paramount and ComCast.

Most of the companies have stated that placing their ads next to “pro-Nazi” and “pro-Hitler” content was the deciding factor in stopping the ads on the platform. In a statement from IBM to The Verge, the company stated that “IBM has zero tolerance for hate speech and discrimination and we have immediately suspended all advertising on X while we investigate this completely unacceptable situation”.

Apple joins others in removing ads from X

The exclusion of Apple from the list of advertisers is worrying for the platform. According to another report by The Verge, Apple is one of X’s biggest consumers. It regularly bought ads promoting new products and bought custom “hashflag” emoji animations for high-profile events.

In September, Apple CEO Tim Cook reflected on the company’s relationship with X in an interview with CBS Sunday Morning. He said: “There are some things about it that I don’t like,” highlighting anti-Semitism as a problematic issue. While he added that Apple is constantly evaluating whether or not to advertise on X, it didn’t make a decision to stop at that time.