The social media platform, now rebranded as X, may face a staggering $75 million decline in advertising revenue by the year-end following recent events surrounding owner Elon Musk and his apparent support of an antisemitic conspiracy theory, as reported by The New York Times on Friday.
According to the Times, internal documents have been reviewed, revealing the challenging situation X is currently navigating. The documents, reportedly from X’s sales team, list over 200 ad units from major companies like Amazon and Coca-Cola that have either ceased advertising or are contemplating a pause on their X campaigns.
The Times notes that these documents are utilized by X’s sales team to monitor the repercussions of advertising pullbacks during November.
Elon Musk drew significant backlash last week for seemingly endorsing an antisemitic post on the platform, declaring it to be the “actual truth.” The post he responded to was a reaction to another user expressing concern about the rising tide of antisemitism.
The initial user, self-identified as a “Jewish Conservative,” called out anonymous individuals posting “Hitler was right” and challenged them to speak openly. In response, another user claimed that Jewish communities were promoting hatred against whites. Musk replied, affirming, “You have said the actual truth.”
Major corporations, including IBM, Disney, and Apple, publicly announced their decision to withdraw advertisements from X in the aftermath of Musk’s controversial comments. The platform had already been grappling with a decline in ad revenue, with half of X’s top advertisers exiting in 2022 following Musk assuming control.
