\n<\/p>\n
Last week, Elon Musk appeared to endorse antisemitic conspiracy theories and posted about supporting white pride<\/a> on his social platform X, formerly Twitter. Musk\u2019s tweets were then highlighted by a Media Matters<\/em> article<\/a> that found advertising from major companies had shown up next to pro-Nazi content. Major advertisers then halted their ad spends on the platform. To address the controversy, CEO Linda Yaccarino sent a memo titled \u201cOur Work Is Meaningful,\u201d reiterating her commitment to X.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n As pressure mounts for the company to distance itself from supporting antisemitism, Forbes<\/em> reported<\/a> that advertisers are urging Yaccarino to resign as well. A former NBCUniversal chairperson with close ties to the ad industry, Yaccarino had been brought into Musk\u2019s company to restore relationships with the companies that make up the majority of X\u2019s revenue. Advertisers were already concerned their paid content would show up next to antisemitic or otherwise bigoted posts, but they\u2019re especially worried now, when the platform\u2019s owner seems to be actively stoking conspiracies about the Jewish community.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n Addressing X employees in a company-wide email, Yaccarino expressed her enthusiasm about the company\u2019s current direction. In the memo, first published by The Hollywood Reporter<\/em><\/a> and obtained by The Verge<\/em>, she claimed that advertisers had \u201ctemporarily paused investments\u201d \u2014 an interesting way to phrase major advertisers like Apple<\/a>, Disney<\/a>, and IBM<\/a> pulling their business from the platform because of Musk\u2019s seeming endorsement of antisemitism. She also blamed articles that she believed had been \u201cmanipulated\u201d for damaging the platform\u2019s reputation. \u201cThe data will tell the real story,\u201d she wrote in her memo, possibly a reference to Musk\u2019s post \/ screenshot<\/a> indicating that he would sue Media Matters<\/em>.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n In response, Media Matters<\/em>\u2019 president Angelo Carusone said, \u201cElon Musk has spent the last few days making meritless legal threats, elevating bizarre conspiracy theories, and lobbing vicious personal attacks against his \u2018enemies\u2019 online. Even if he does not follow through with his threat to sue, the volatility of actions reinforce why major brands are rightly skittish of partnering with X.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/div>\n