Musk’s Antisemitic Tweet Forces Apple to Halt Advertising on X

According to Axios, Apple is halting its advertising on the social media platform known as X, which is Twitter. This decision comes after concerns arose about Apple’s ads appearing alongside extremist and antisemitic content. The pause in advertising mirrors IBM’s recent move, announced earlier, also suspending ads on the same platform.

An earlier report by Media Matters pinpointed multiple companies, including Apple, IBM, and Oracle, whose ads were being displayed alongside objectionable content like far-right conspiracy theories and antisemitic posts.

Elon Musk’s endorsement of an antisemitic tweet added to the tension. Musk’s previous changes to Twitter had briefly led Apple to decrease its advertising on the platform, prompting public accusations from Musk about Apple’s stance on free speech. Following a meeting between Musk and Tim Cook at Apple Park, Apple resumed its advertising on Twitter.

In an interview two months ago, Cook defended the choice to advertise on Twitter, acknowledging its importance as a platform for public discourse and its drawbacks. The duration of Apple’s current advertising pause on Twitter remains unclear, as the company has not officially commented on the Axios report.

Besides Apple, Disney also halted the advertising on X, as did Lionsgate, the entertainment and film distribution company, and Paramount Global, the media giant that owns CBS.

On Thursday, Linda Yaccarino, X’s chief executive, posted on the site that the company had been “extremely clear about our efforts to combat antisemitism and discrimination.” But on Friday, Mr Musk agreed with a post on X that suggested advertisers like IBM were pulling back from the platform to save face.

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