The backlash over Elon Musk’s endorsement of an anti-Semitic conspiracy theory on X grew on Friday as several major advertisers on his social media platform stopped spending following his comments.
Disney said Apple, which spends tens of millions of dollars on X each year, has also stopped advertising on the platform, a person familiar with the situation said. They followed IBM, which cut spending by X on Thursday.
Mr. Musk, who bought Twitter last year and renamed it X, has been under scrutiny for months for allowing and even fomenting anti-Semitic slurs on the site. Things came to a head on Wednesday when the tech billionaire posted on “and supporting immigration by “hordes of minorities.”
“You told the actual truth,” Mr. Musk replied.
Jewish groups have compared the statement in the original post to a belief known as the replacement theory, a conspiracy theory that says non-white immigrants organized by Jews intend to replace the white race. This idea inspired Robert Bowers, who raged against Jewish people online before killing 11 worshipers at the Tree of Life Synagogue in Pittsburgh in 2018.
On Friday, the White House condemned Mr. Musk, 52, for promoting the anti-Jewish conspiracy theory. Andrew Bates, a White House spokesman, said in a statement that it was “unacceptable to repeat the vile lie behind the deadliest act of anti-Semitism in American history at any time, let alone a month after the deadliest day for Jewish life.” People since the…”Holocaust.”
An X spokesman declined to comment on the commercial breaks and Apple did not respond. Axios previously reported on Apple’s decision and Bloomberg previously reported on Lionsgate’s suspension.
Linda Yaccarino, CEO of X, published on the website On Thursday, the company said the company has been “extremely clear about our efforts to combat anti-Semitism and discrimination.” But on Friday, Mr. Musk agreed with a post on X that suggested advertisers like IBM were pulling out of the platform to save face.
He later said Accounts that made “clear calls for extreme violence” were blocked, highlighting two phrases related to Palestinian supporters that would not be tolerated on the site.
Advertisers have been skeptical of X since Mr. Musk bought the social media service last fall, saying he wanted more freedom of speech and would relax content moderation rules. This meant that the platform could theoretically place branded ads next to posts containing offensive or hateful language.
Many companies, including General Motors and Volkswagen, have at various points over the past year resisted allowing their promotions to appear on X amid a well-documented rise in hate speech, misinformation and foreign propaganda. In April, Mr. Musk said that almost all advertisers had returned, without specifying whether spending was at the same level; He later discovered that advertising revenue had fallen by 50 percent.
Mr. Musk also refrained from issuing a “thermonuclear name and shame” to woo her by choosing Ms. Yaccarino, a former top advertising executive at NBCUniversal, to succeed her as chief executive. He started public battles with major donors like Apple and tasked sales executives with maintaining relationships in the advertising industry. Top advertising companies like IPG asked their customers to withdraw from X.
Advertising had accounted for about 90 percent of Twitter revenue long before Mr. Musk bought the company. Last month, X told employees that the company was worth $19 billion. That was less than the $44 billion Mr. Musk had paid.
Heightened sensitivity to anti-Semitism, Mr. Musk’s penchant for public bickering and general weariness after months of fuss over X made many ad executives hesitant to speak out on Friday.
“Clients have always had to make decisions about what content they will or will not be associated with,” said Renee Miller, founder of Los Angeles advertising agency Miller Group, in an email. “We generally advise our clients not to take a political position in public.”
IBM, which cut about $1 million in advertising spending it had committed to X for the rest of the year, said Thursday that it has “zero tolerance for hate speech and discrimination.” The tech company was acting after a report this week from Media Matters for America, a left-wing advocacy group, that ads from companies like Apple and IBM appeared on X alongside posts supporting white nationalism and Nazism.
Mr. Musk Posted late Thursday that “Media Matters is an evil organization.”
Angelo Carusone, president and chief executive of Media Matters, said Musk was “calling us evil” for pointing out what was going on
He added that X “will not only lose money on Apple, but it is the cornerstone of their strategy to win back advertisers.”
Kate Conger contributed reporting.