IBM, EU, Disney and others pull ads from Elon Musk’s X as concerns about antisemitism fuel backlash

By KELVIN CHAN and HALELUYA HADERO
AP Business Writers

Advertisers are fleeing social media platform X over concerns about their ads showing up next to pro-Nazi content, hate speech on the site in general or billionaire owner Elon Musk’s own posts endorsing an antisemitic conspiracy theory. IBM, NBCUniversal and its parent company Comcast said they stopped advertising on X after a report said their ads were appearing alongside material praising Nazis. It said the same of ads from Apple and Oracle. The EU said Friday it is pausing advertising on X and other social media platforms, in part because of a surge in hate speech. Disney, Lionsgate and Paramount Global also said Friday they were suspending or pausing advertising on X. Musk sparked outcry this week with posts responding to a user who accused Jews of hating white people.