Recently, due to anti-Semitic remarks, advertisers such as Apple and Disney have successively announced the suspension of advertising on X companies. On November 30, local time, at the New York Times’ annual DealBook Summit, Musk publicly responded to Disney CEO Bob Iger. At the event, regarding the suspension of advertising on X, Bob Iger said: "I have great respect for Musk and what he has achieved. However, given the position he has taken in a quite public way, Disney has concluded that cooperation with Musk and X is not necessarily a positive for us."

Previously, Musk had posted a post on X, raising questions about "anti-Semitism." Affected by this, advertisers such as Apple, IBM, and Disney announced that they would suspend advertising on X.

At the same event, Musk publicly responded that if companies like Disney were “trying to blackmail me with advertising,” they shouldn’t advertise on X.

Musk said: "Don't advertise. If someone wants to blackmail me with advertising? Blackmail me with money? Get out of here!"

When Musk made the above remarks, Bob Iger was sitting in the audience. Musk addressed him directly: “Get the fuck out of here, got it? Hey, Bob, if you’re in the audience, that’s how I feel — no ads.”

Regarding the post that caused controversy, Musk also said that he should not have posted that post.

He also clarified that his view was that persecuted groups funded by Jewish organizations were calling for attacks on Jews — a completely illogical situation. "What I'm trying to say is that it's unwise to support groups that want to eliminate you."

He reiterated that he was not anti-Semitic, "if anything, I am philo-Semitic."

CEO and Ackman support

Regarding Musk’s public response, X CEO Linda Yaccarino stated in the latest employee memo that Musk’s interview was “candid and profound” and encouraged employees to watch it.

She also reiterated that X’s mission is to be an open platform without censorship. "Our principles have no price and will never be compromised," the memo reads.

At the same time, the well-known investor Ackman also publicly posted support for Musk and X. He said that other platforms also have anti-Semitic content and other problematic content, but advertisers only boycott X, which is unfair.

He also said that X is irreplaceable and cheaper.

Musk is a free speech absolutist that he respects, and he is absolutely right. He and X have been unfairly treated by advertisers. Other platforms such as Tiktok, Instagram, and Facebook also have a large amount of problematic content, including anti-Semitism, but advertisers have not boycotted these platforms. Musk was targeted because other media outlets viewed X as a competitor, and whenever his name appeared in an article about the controversy, it would attract clicks. It was offensive articles from other media outlets that put pressure on advertisers like Disney to stop advertising on X. If Disney CEO Bob Iger had examined the facts carefully, he might have continued to run ads on X, but they gave in to public pressure instead of doing the right thing. Meanwhile, Disney spends heavily on advertising on TikTok, but the platform may also have videos of kids teaching other teens about anorexia or worse. X provides advertisers with incredible access to global audiences that no other platform can offer. Due to the current situation, it is cheaper compared to other alternatives.


More advertisers will exit in the future

Advertisers expressed shock at Musk's remarks. "It was clear (Musk) didn't want us there, and we didn't want to be there," said a brand representative who attended the meeting.

Advertising industry experts believe that more advertisers may exit X in the future, and there is no clear solution yet.

Musk acknowledged that a long-term advertiser boycott could bankrupt X, but said the public should blame the brands, not him.

However, some analysts disagreed. Insider Intelligence analyst Jasmine Enberg said: "If someone is killing X, it must be Musk, not advertisers."

In addition to the risk of losing corporate advertisers, X also risks losing election advertising funding. According to data from AdImpact, which tracks political advertising, political ad spending is expected to reach a record $10.2 billion in the U.S. presidential election next year.

Authentic, a digital marketing agency that has worked with companies including Biden, said it planned to discuss with all clients whether to advertise on X.

In addition, data from media analysis company Guideline shows that from January to October this year, advertising on X dropped 64% year-on-year.

Looking forward, analyst Tom Forte believes: "There is a risk that more companies will stop advertising on X, at least in the short term."

He said this makes X's subscription business even more important and could mean the company may need more than half of its revenue to come from subscriptions.

However, data shows that since Musk acquired X last year, the platform’s monthly active users in the United States have also dropped by about 19%.