Has Musk Really Learned to Stop Slandering or Prejudice Using Social Media? X CEO Tim Yaccarino Revisited

IBM pulled its advertising from X, which was formerly a social networking site, as its founder agreed with posts that promoted antisemitic and white pride. Media Matters noted that IBM, Apple, and others all had their ads placed next to pro-Nazi and pro-Hitler content, but they did not know about it.

Musk later focused in on the Anti-Defamation League (ADL), a nonprofit focused on fighting antisemitism, saying that the group “unjustly attacks the majority of the West” (a category Musk left undefined) because it cannot “criticize the minority groups who are their primary threat.” Musk had threatened to go after the ADL because of their criticism of the moderation practices on X that allowed antisemitism to spread.

He never sued, but he clearly hasn’t dropped the grudge — and if anything, he’s broadened its scope. Musk responded by saying that his complaint is not just limited to the ADL, but is also applicable to all Jewish communities. He didn’t agree with the ADL and other groups that promoted anti-white racism or anti-Asian racism.

The liberal watchdog group Media Matters released a new report this week that found a number of major companies, including Apple, Amazon, Oracle NBCUniversal’s Bravo network had advertisements showing up alongside antisemitic posts on the site.

For months, Musk has attempted to find other ways to make money on the social media platform, including charging for “verified” blue checks in a subscription service, but none of his efforts have have gained momentum, just as the company’s advertising base appears more rickety than ever.

In August, X CEO Linda Yaccarino emphasized that the company was expanding its brand-safety tools, designed to give advertisers and marketers more control over what kind of content their ads appeared in proximity to.

Musk tapped Yaccarino, the former head of advertising at NBCUniversial, in large part to help bring back major advertisers to the platform since Musk acquired it last year and unleashed drastic changes. Musk’s shakeups led to a surge in hate and conspiracy theories after he loosened rules around what is allowed to be posted to the site.

Does Apple Have a Halo? The Impact of Apple’s Advertising Halo on the Anti-Defamation Lobby on X

“At a time when antisemitism is exploding in America and surging around the world, it is indisputably dangerous to use one’s influence to validate and promote antisemitic theories,” the Anti-Defamation league’s CEO Jonathan Greenblatt wrote on the platform on Thursday.

According to Angelo Carusone, president of Media Matters, advertisers like IBM and Apple are big spenders on X. In the past, Apple has frequently been among the top 20 advertisers on X.

Apple usually signals a certain level of brand safety to other advertisers. The company is also known for its stringent policies around controversial content in its App Store and on its own platforms. If Apple has paused, or plans to pause, its advertising on X, it “could have a halo effect,” Carusone claims, scaring other advertisers away from the platform. “It goes way beyond money.”