Apple and Disney joins X boycott as Elon Musk accused of ‘abhorrent’ antisemitic hate

Elon Musk

Apple and Disney have now halted advertising on social media platform X amid an antisemitism storm with owner Elon Musk

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Georgina Cutler

By Georgina Cutler


Published: 18/11/2023

- 08:44

Updated: 18/11/2023

- 09:19

The corporate boycott follows an investigation which flagged ads appearing next to pro-Nazi posts on X

Apple and Disney have now halted advertising on social media platform X amid an antisemitism storm with owner Elon Musk.

The corporate boycott has gathered pace after Musk replied to a post sharing an antisemitic conspiracy theory, calling it "actual truth".


Apple, Disney, Comcast and Warner Brothers Discovery have all stopped advertising on X, US media reports.

The European Commission, TV network Paramount and movie studio Lionsgate have also pulled ads from the social media platform.

The corporate boycott has gathered pace after Musk replied to a post sharing an antisemitic conspiracy theory, calling it 'actual truth'

PA

The corporate boycott also follows an investigation by a US group which flagged ads appearing next to pro-Nazi posts on X.

However, a spokesperson for X said the company does not intentionally place brands "next to this kind of content" and the platform is committed to tackling antisemitism.

The SpaceX entrepreneur has denied he is antisemitic and said his comments referred not to all Jewish people but to groups like the Anti-Defamation League (ADL) and other unspecified "Jewish communities".

The White House has condemned Musk's endorsement of the post.

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Spokesperson Andrew Bates said: "We condemn this abhorrent promotion of antisemitic and racist hate in the strongest terms."

X chief executive Linda Yaccarino said that the platform had been "extremely clear about our efforts to combat antisemitism and discrimination.

"There's absolutely no place for it anywhere in the world".

IBM became the first company to cease its advertising on Thursday, saying the juxtaposition of its ads with Nazi content was "completely unacceptable".

Apple store

Apple, Disney, Comcast and Warner Brothers Discovery have all stopped advertising on X, US media reports

Reuters

On Friday, the ADL - a major critic of how X moderates incendiary content - offered rare praise for Musk's steps to fight hate on the platform.

It comes after Musk posted on X that anyone using terms such as "from the river to the sea" - which the ADL has described as a coded call for Israel's destruction - could be suspended from the platform.

ADL chief executive Jonathan Greenblatt replied that this was "an important and welcome move".

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