IBM pulls ads from X/Twitter as Elon Musk promotes anti-Semitic conspiracy

Within hours of Elon Musk’s endorsement of an anti-Semitic conspiracy theory on Wednesday, a recent report identified ads from major companies being displayed on pro-Nazi content on X, Musk’s platform, formerly known as Twitter.

As of Thursday evening, IBM, one of those companies, has officially suspended all advertising on X.

“IBM has a zero-tolerance policy towards hate speech and discrimination. We have immediately suspended all advertising on X while we investigate this completely unacceptable situation,” stated IBM to outlets like the Financial Times and The Verge.

On Wednesday, Musk responded to a user’s post promoting an anti-Semitic conspiracy theory suggesting that Jewish people are replacing whites with immigrants from minority groups.

“You have stated the actual truth,” replied Musk in a post that has now garnered nearly 6 million views on X.

In subsequent posts, Musk reiterated his views, specifically naming organizations like the ADL, which he accused of not criticizing the minority groups who, in his opinion, pose the primary threat.

Linda Yaccarino, X’s selected CEO, seemed to indirectly respond to the criticism of Musk’s posts in her own post on Thursday afternoon.

“X’s stance has always been very clear: discrimination by anyone should STOP across the board — something we can and should all agree on,” said Yaccarino. “When it comes to this platform — X has also been extremely clear about our efforts to combat anti-Semitism and discrimination. There’s no place for it anywhere in the world — it’s ugly and wrong. Full stop.”

However, just hours before Yaccarino indirectly addressed anti-Semitism on X, Media Matters For America released a new report revealing ads from major companies being shown on pro-Nazi content on X.

The report found that ads from companies such as IBM, Apple, Oracle, Xfinity, and Bravo were being displayed on content that promoted Nazis and conveyed positive messages about Hitler. As mentioned earlier, IBM has already announced a pause in its ad campaigns on the platform.

It is worth noting that this is not the first time this has happened. Mashable previously covered a Media Matters study a few months ago, which found ads from companies such as Amazon, FIFA, Samsung, MLB, Sports Illustrated, and Adobe being displayed alongside pro-Hitler and pro-Nazi content on X.