IBM withdraws ads from Elon Musk's X platform due to pro-Nazi content

IBM announced on Thursday that it has halted advertising on X, formerly known as Twitter, due to concerns that its ads were being displayed alongside pro-Nazi content on the platform.

The decision follows a report by nonprofit Media Matters, revealing that ads from Apple and Oracle were also found next to posts promoting Hitler and the Nazi Party on X.

In response to an AFP inquiry, IBM stated, "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."

An X executive informed AFP that they conducted a "sweep" of accounts highlighted by Media Matters, and these accounts will no longer be eligible to generate revenue from ads. The flagged posts will be labeled as "sensitive media."

The executive explained, "Ads follow the people on X, in this case, the Media Matter's researcher that was going to actively look for this content - that's how user targeting works."

Since Elon Musk took control of X after rebranding it from Twitter, there have been significant changes, including reduced content moderation, restoration of accounts of previously banned extremists, and the option for users to purchase account verification. Musk has promoted Community Notes as a tool for users to police the platform to combat misinformation.

A study by disinformation monitoring group NewsGuard revealed that paying subscribers on X were major contributors to spreading misinformation about the Israel-Hamas conflict.

Media Matters, in its post displaying samples of problematic content on X, stated, "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."

Elon Musk sparked controversy by endorsing an antisemitic post on X, falsely claiming that members of the Jewish community were fostering hatred against white people. Musk later directed criticism toward the Anti-Defamation League, accusing the nonprofit of influencing advertisers to withdraw from X.