Right-wing influencers pledge to bail out Elon Musk after Apple, Disney, others suspend advertising on X

Apple. Disney. IBM. NBCUniversal. Sony. These are just a few of the major companies that have recently halted their advertising efforts on X, previously known as Twitter.

Following this, a number of right-wing media entities and influencers have united to pledge their support for Elon Musk, committing to advertise on X to compensate for the revenue loss resulting from the departure of these corporate giants.

Last week, Elon Musk expressed his endorsement of an antisemitic conspiracy theory, alleging that Jewish groups are replacing white people with immigrants from minority communities, coinciding with a report from Media Matters for America, which revealed big brands’ ads appearing alongside pro-Nazi and pro-Hitler content on the platform. The combination of these issues seems to have lead to a situation in which numerous major companies no longer feel comfortable advertising on the platform.

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On Saturday, Seth Dillon, CEO of the satirical website Babylon Bee, declared that his company would spend $250,000 on advertising on X to support “free speech.” Dillon’s alignment with Musk doesn’t come as a surprise, as Babylon Bee’s suspension from Twitter was one of the factors that drew Musk’s interest in acquiring the social media platform in the first place.

Shortly after, YouTuber Tim Pool also vowed to spend the same amount on X ads “over the next few months.”

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Subsequently, more right-wing media figures and companies came forward with their pledges, albeit with amounts significantly smaller than Dillon and Pool’s commitments. Political commentator Benny Johnson, for example, pledged $50,000 for ad spending. Other right-wing creators such as The Quartering, Donut Operator, Gavin McInnes, and Elijah Schaffer pledged amounts ranging from $2,500 to $40,000.

The controversial Andrew Tate, a “manosphere” influencer who has faced charges of rape and human trafficking, pledged the largest amount, stating that he would give Musk $1 million per month without even running ads for his own projects.

“I will advertise X on X, I will literally promote your platform on this platform,” wrote Tate. “1,000,000 USD a month. You don’t need other advertisers. Simply let me know where to pay @elonmusk.”

It’s uncertain whether Tate’s offer is genuine or if he even possesses the resources to donate $12 million per year to X. When Tate was arrested earlier this year, Romanian authorities revealed that he had assets worth more than $10 million. This implies that Tate is committing to contribute more than he actually has to Musk, an amount that could deplete Tate’s fortune in less than 12 months.

Nevertheless, even taken at face value, Tate’s suggestion that Musk wouldn’t “need other advertisers” if Tate paid $1 million per month to X is clearly far-fetched.

As of now, a total of 8 right-wing media figures and groups have promised $1,627,500 in ad purchases on X, which includes Tate’s potentially unserious offer. Moreover, the majority of these pledges are spread across multiple months, so this amount doesn’t represent a monthly commitment.

To put this in perspective, Apple alone reportedly spends over $100 million annually on X ads. Looking more broadly, advertising accounted for 90 percent of the $5.1 billion revenue for the platform in the year prior to Musk’s acquisition.

Musk has already expressed his gratitude for the pledged advertising support in a post on X. However, the reality remains that the assistance from these right-wing figures cannot fully compensate for the substantial loss in revenue resulting from the recent actions of its owner that led major brands and corporations to redirect their ad investments elsewhere.

UPDATE: Nov. 19, 2023, 7:08 p.m. EST This piece has been updated to include additional details surrounding Andrew Tate’s net worth.