IBM stops ads on X as Elon Musk endorses anti-semitism

Tech major IBM has stopped advertising on X as its owner Elon Musk continues to endorse far-right viewpoints and agrees with posts that promote antisemitism.

Non-profit organisation Media Matters drew attention to the topic, saying as Musk continues his descent into white nationalist and antisemitic conspiracy theories, his social media platform has been placing ads for major brands like Apple, Bravo (NBCUniversal), IBM, Oracle, and Xfinity (Comcast) next to content that touts Adolf Hitler and his Nazi Party.

The company's placements come after CEO Linda Yaccarino claimed that brands are "protected from the risk of being next to" toxic posts on the platform.

IBM released a statement to the Financial Times, saying that it has "suspended all advertising on X while we investigate this entirely unacceptable situation."

Media Matters said that Yaccarino has been trying to bring advertisers back to the platform by claiming it's safe for business.

She also claimed that X (formerly Twitter) has been "demonstrating its absolute commitment to combating antisemitism on the platform” and that “antisemitism is evil and X will always work to fight it on our platform."

"But her boss (Musk) endorsed the pernicious antisemitic conspiracy theory that Jewish people are supporting 'hordes of minorities' who are 'flooding' into the country to replace white people. That conspiracy theory was the same one that motivated the deadly 2018 Tree of Life synagogue shooting," the non-profit said in a blog post late on Thursday.

X has also reinstated numerous accounts of bigots and paid far-right extremists, apparently including a pro-Hitler and Holocaust denier account, as part of its creator ad revenue sharing program.

During all of this Musk-induced chaos, corporate advertisements have also been appearing on pro-Hitler, Holocaust denial, white nationalist, pro-violence, and neo-Nazi accounts, said the report.