IBM is pulling back from X after its ads were placed alongside pro-Nazi content on the platform. The company says it has suspended all ads from the network after nonprofit watchdog group Media Matters reported that it found ads for IBM and several other tech giants next to pro-Nazi memes and other posts promoting Hitler.
“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 in a statement. Comcast, whose ads were also highlighted by Media Matters, told the Financial Times it was looking into the situation.
An executive at X told Engadget that the posts identified by Media Matters will “no longer be monetizable” and will appear with “sensitive media” labels that require users to click through a warning in order to view the content. They added that “while we understand it's not an ideal placement for any ad,” the post had only racked up “about 8,000 impressions.”
It’s not clear how many campaigns are affected by IBM’s decision to suspend ads. But another high profile company pulling back from the platform, even temporarily, is another blow to the company’s already battered advertising business.
In a post on X, CEO Linda Yaccarino said that “discrimination by everyone should STOP across the board,” though she didn’t reference IBM or Media Matters’ report directly. “X has also been extremely clear about our efforts to combat antisemitism and discrimination,” she wrote. “There's no place for it anywhere in the world — it's ugly and wrong.”
