X CEO Linda Yaccarino acknowledged that some clients had suspended advertising on the platform after anti-Semitic content and comments on the social media platform sparked outrage, some of which were backed by the site's owner Musk.
Yaccarino said "a misleading and manipulated article" prompted some advertisers to pause spending, pointing to a MediaMatters article that said ads from big brands were being placed near offensive content. Yaccarino joined Musk's criticism of the report, saying it misrepresented the X (formerly Twitter) experience.
"The data will speak for itself," Yaccarino said in a memo to employees on Sunday, "because to all of us who work at
Platform X faced widespread backlash after Musk endorsed a tweet last week that said Jews have a "dialectical hatred" of white people. Musk responded to the tweet at the time: "What you said is the truth."
Musk's comments added to the shock of a MediaMatters report last Thursday. The report noted that IBM, Apple, Oracle, Comcast's Xfinity brand and the Bravo television network placed ads on the X platform in close proximity to pro-Nazi content.
"Across every corner of the company, we are working hard to create a platform for everyone," Yaccarino said in the letter. "No other platform works as hard to protect free speech as X. Our work is critical, but it won't be easy. What we do matters, which means it will naturally attract criticism from those who don't share our beliefs."
Related articles: