Lionsgate Entertainment Corp. is pausing all of its advertising on the Elon Musk-owned X, effective immediately, citing Elon Musk’s “recent antisemitic tweets.” The decision comes just one day after IBM suspended ads on the social media platform, with Apple also reportedly suspending X advertising Friday, according to Axios.
Musk has faced intense backlash for promoting and agreeing with a post on X (formerly Twitter), which glorified an antisemitic conspiracy theory. The White House condemned the post earlier Friday, calling it “unacceptable to repeat the hideous lie behind the most fatal act of Antisemitism in American history at any time.”
“Lionsgate has suspended advertising on X because of Elon Musk’s recent antisemitic tweets,” a spokesperson for the company told TheWrap.
Apple has also reportedly suspended all advertisements on X, according to a report from Axios. The tech giant has been a major advertiser on the platform and the company’s withdrawal from X should come as a warning sign for its advertising revenue.
A Media Matters report published on Thursday found that X was placing advertisements from companies like IBM, Apple, Oracle and Xfinity alongside harmful content that promoted antisemitic views.
Apple CEO Tim Cook said in an interview in September that the company was evaluating if advertising on X is appropriate as Musk has been accused of promoting antisemitism on the platform.
“Generally, my view is Twitter’s an important property. I like the concept that it’s there for discourse and there as a town square,” said Cook. “There’s also some things about it I don’t like!”
On Thursday, an IBM spokesperson said in a statement that “IBM has zero tolerance for hate speech and discrimination and we have immediately suspended all advertising on X while we investigate this entirely unacceptable situation.”
X CEO Linda Yaccarino attempted to quell concerns by posting on Thursday that “X’s point of view has always been very clear that discrimination by everyone should stop across the board — I think that’s something we can and should all agree on.”
“When it comes to this platform — X has also been extremely clear about our efforts to combat antisemitism and discrimination. There’s no place for it anywhere in the world — it’s ugly and wrong,” she wrote. “Full stop.”
X’s point of view has always been very clear that discrimination by everyone should STOP across the board — I think that's something we can and should all agree on. When it comes to this platform — X has also been extremely clear about our efforts to combat antisemitism and…
— Linda Yaccarino (@lindayaX) November 16, 2023
Lionsgate’s decision was first reported by Bloomberg.
The post Lionsgate, Apple Suspend Advertising on Elon Musk’s X Over Owner’s Antisemitic Post appeared first on TheWrap.
