Disney, Lionsgate, IBM and More Pull Ads From X After Elon Musks Antisemitic Remark

Disney and Warner Bros. Discovery have joined a growing list of blue-chip advertisers who are pulling advertising and promotions from the social-media outlet X in the wake of a recent antisemitic remark posted by the venue’s owner, Elon Musk.

A Lionsgate spokesperson said Friday that the entertainment company “has suspended advertising on X because of Elon Musk’s recent antisemitic tweet.” The move comes as Lionsgate is marketing the release of “The Hunger Games: The Ballad of Songbirds & Snakes,” the latest film in its “Hunger Games” franchise. IBM earlier Friday said that it had “immediately suspended all advertising on X while we investigate this entirely unacceptable situation.”

Musk on Wednesday indicated on X that he supported a statement posted by another user that suggested “western Jewish populations” were “coming to the disturbing realization that those hordes of minorities that support flooding their country don’t exactly like them too much.” Musk reposted the remark and added “you have said the actual truth.”

Axios reported Friday that Apple, one of the industry’s most influential marketers, had also pulled its advertising from X.

The new round of Madison Avenue exits comes as the White House and the European Commission also took a hard stance against X on Friday. “We have seen an alarming increase in disinformation and hate speech on several social media platforms in recent weeks, and X is certainly quite effective of that,” the Commission said in a statement. A White House statement on Friday said that “We condemn this abhorrent promotion of antisemitic and racist hate in the strongest terms, which runs against our core values as Americans.”

The furor around Musk’s remark comes despite a Thursday post from X CEO Linda Yaccarino noting that the social-media company has been “extremely clear about our efforts to combat antisemitism and discrimination,” adding: “There’s no place for it anywhere in the world — it’s ugly and wrong. Full stop.”

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Update: 2024-07-10

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