Several major companies, including Apple, Disney, IBM, Lionsgate, and Oracle, have halted their advertising on platform X due to concerns about their ads appearing alongside pro-Nazi content and hate speech.
This action follows X owner Elon Musk’s amplification of an antisemitic trope.
Musk has denied the accusation of antisemitism and has threatened legal action regarding the advertising investigation.
Media Matters for America, a left-leaning pressure group, reported that ads from prominent firms were displayed alongside posts containing Hitler quotes, Nazi praise, and Holocaust denial.
A spokesperson for X told the BBC that the company does not intentionally place brands “next to this kind of content” and the platform is dedicated to combatting antisemitism.
Mr Musk said on Saturday that X would file a “thermonuclear lawsuit” against Media Matters “the split second court opens on Monday”.
He said the group’s report had “misrepresented the real user experience of X” in order to “undermine freedom of speech and mislead advertisers”.
Musk sparked outcry this week with his own tweets responding to a user who accused Jews of hating white people and professing indifference to antisemitism. “You have said the actual truth,” Musk tweeted.
Musk has faced accusations of tolerating antisemitic messages on the platform since purchasing it last year, and the content on X has gained increased scrutiny since the war between Israel and Hamas began.
“We condemn this abhorrent promotion of Antisemitic and racist hate in the strongest terms, which runs against our core values as Americans,” White House spokesperson Andrew Bates said Friday in response to Musk’s tweet.
