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Lanon Wee

IBM stops advertising on X following report of anti-Semitic material in ads

IBM has suspended its advertising on X following a report that it's ads were being placed next to antisemitic content on the platform formerly known as Twitter. A spokesperson for X told CNBC in an email that the accounts involved in putting out the offensive content will no longer receive ad revenue. On Wednesday, Elon Musk, owner of X, amplified an antisemitic X post and said things that caused an uproar among detractors. IBM has decided to suspend their advertising with X after a report unearthed that the organization's ads were featured in close proximity to anti-Semitic material on the platform formerly known as Twitter. "At IBM, we have zero tolerance for hate speech and discrimination," stated an IBM representative in an announcement to CNBC. Media Matters for America posted a study Wednesday showing that Apple, Bravo, Oracle, Xfinity, and IBM ads were visible near posts that mentioned Hitler and the Nazi Party on X. X CEO Linda Yaccarino has been attempting to win back advertisers who stopped their campaigns after Elon Musk's acquisition of the platform. Although X has denied these claims, research shows a surge of controversial material on the platform. A spokesperson for X told CNBC that the accounts which Media Matters included in their report were no longer eligible for ads, and the content would be labeled as not safe for work, thus reducing its scope. X claims that the advertising system is not intentionally placing a brand next to offensive materials. The spokesperson said that Media Matters purposely searches X for such posts and continuously refreshes the page in order to capture as many brands as they can. Comcast, the parent company of both Bravo and CNBC, reported that they are investigating the situation. Apple and Oracle have not yet responded to requests for comment. IBM's move follows Musk's recent tweet in which he criticized the Anti-Defamation League and drew condemnation from critics. Responsing to Musk's post, ADL CEO Jonathan Greenblatt declared on X that it is "indisputably dangerous to use one's influence to validate and promote anti-Semitic theories." Yaccarino added that X has been "extremely clear about our efforts to combat anti-Semitism and discrimination. There's no place for it anywhere in the world — it's ugly and wrong. Full stop." In response to these events, a coalition of 163 Jewish leaders, referred to as X Out Hate, issued a statement, once again urging major companies like Disney, Apple and Amazon to stop funding X in light of the increasing levels of anti-Semitism on the platform. X Out Hate had initially made this call back in September. The group also called for Apple and Google to remove X from their app stores.

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