IBM pulls ads from X after being placed next to pro-Nazi posts

Earlier this week, X owner Elon Musk also endorsed an anti-Semitic post on the platform

Elon Musk endorsed an antisemitic post on X this week. Reuters

US company IBM suspended all its advertising on the Elon Musk-owned social media platform X, previously known as Twitter, after a report found its ads were placed next to pro-Nazi content.

Media Matters, a media watchdog, said it found that corporate advertisements by IBM, Apple, Oracle and Comcast's Xfinity were being placed alongside anti-Semitic content.

“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,” the company said.

X said its system does not intentionally place brands “actively next to this kind of content”.

The report comes a day after Mr Musk endorsed an anti-Semitic post on X that claimed members of the Jewish community were stoking hatred against white people.

He attacked the Anti-Defamation League, a non-profit organisation that works to fight anti-Semitism, who he has accused previously of being responsible for the drop in advertising on X.

“X’s point of view has always been very clear that discrimination by everyone should stop across the board – I think that's something we can and should all agree on,” chief executive Linda Yaccarino said in a post on the platform.

“When it comes to this platform – X has also been extremely clear about our efforts to combat anti-Semitism and discrimination. There's no place for it anywhere in the world – it's ugly and wrong. Full stop.”

Mr Musk, who bought San Francisco-based Twitter for about $44 billion last October, has made several major changes to the platform since then.

He also cut thousands of jobs, affecting content moderation, saying that the company was losing $4 million a day.

However, advertisers have fled the site since his takeover.

Monthly US ad revenue declined at least 55 per cent year-over-year each month since Mr Musk bought the company, Reuters reported in October, citing third party data.

With inputs from Reuters