Walmart is the latest company to stop advertising on Elon Musk’s social media platform X, following major companies such as Disney, IBM and Apple, Reuters reported.
“We are no longer advertising on X because we have found other platforms to better reach our customers,” a Walmart representative told Reuters.
The move comes after a series of incidents, including a report by Media Matters for America that said company ads appeared next to pro-Nazi content on social media platforms and that Musk appeared to endorse anti-Semitic tweets. , advertisers left the platform. Company X subsequently sued Media Matters in response to the report, calling it a “blatant smear campaign.”
This could cost social media platforms $75 million in advertising revenue, and some marketing agencies say these companies may not return to X.
In an interview with Andrew Ross Sorkin at the New York Times’ Dealbook Summit on Wednesday, Musk apologized for his tweets about anti-Semitic posts, calling them “the worst thing he’s ever done on the platform.” “It’s one of the stupidest things.” But in the same interview, he also told advertisers who had suspended promotions for X to “fuck off”, further alienating the company’s base.
“If anyone’s trying to blackmail me with an ad or trying to blackmail me with money, fuck you,” Musk said.
After the interview, Linda Yaccarino, CEO of Company X, thanked advertisers, reminded them that “the He is trying to retract his comments.
Walmart did not immediately respond to Messenger’s request for comment. Mr. X could not be reached for comment.