"We Don't Advertise on X"... Musk, Who Supported 'Anti-Semitism', Faces Backlash Over Ad Suspension

Sudden Absence from APEC Dialogue

Elon Musk, CEO of electric car company Tesla and owner of social media platform X (formerly Twitter), is facing intense backlash after publicly endorsing a claim considered an 'anti-Semitic conspiracy theory.' His stock price dropped, advertising was halted, and even the White House stated it "cannot be tolerated."

Photo by EPA [Image source=EPA Yonhap News]

On the 15th, Musk replied to a post by an X user who wrote, "Jews have a 'dialectical hatred' toward white people," saying, "You spoke the substantive truth."

In response, U.S. media outlets such as CNN pointed out that Musk has become more openly supportive of anti-Semitic views than before.

The cost of a single line of comment was severe. On the following day, the 16th, Tesla's stock price plunged 3.81% to $233.59, breaking its upward trend despite no particular negative news.

The Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) hastily removed Musk's name. That afternoon, Musk was scheduled to co-host the CEO summit with Salesforce CEO Marc Benioff but was replaced on the day of the event.

The organizers only cited Musk's personal reasons for the change, but U.S. media analyzed that it was likely due to Musk's provocative remarks.

IBM, which had released advertisements through X, completely suspended its advertising. IBM stated that day, "We have zero tolerance for hate speech and discrimination," adding, "We are immediately halting all advertising on X while we conduct an internal investigation into this completely unacceptable situation."

Linda Yaccarino, CEO of X, attempted to calm the situation by saying, "Our efforts to fight anti-Semitism and discrimination are very clear," but the situation remained unresolved.

The White House also did not remain passive. On the 17th, Andrew Bates, White House Deputy Press Secretary, posted a statement on the X account, pointing to Musk's tweet and writing, "It is unacceptable to repeat the horrific lies behind the deadliest anti-Semitic acts in American history just one month after the Jewish community experienced the deadliest day since the Holocaust." He emphasized, "We strongly condemn this hateful act that promotes anti-Semitism and racist hatred in the strongest terms."

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.