X (formerly Twitter) CEO Linda Yaccarino has issued a memo to employees, claiming recently paused ads from Apple and IBM are in response to a “misleading and manipulated article.”
The internal memo is seemingly in direct response to a Media Matters report, which broke down the recent backlash to a post Elon Musk published on the platform. Yaccarino claims that Apple has “temporarily paused investments because of a misleading and manipulated article.” She continues to reportedly blame a “vocal minority” for spreading the story.
This past week, Apple reportedly placed its advertising on X on ice. This was in direct response to X owner Elon Musk’s public comment on an antisemitic post. Musk publically agreed with a far-right-wing conspiracy theory, claiming Jewish communities support “dialectical hatred against whites.” Apple’s ad was reported to have been placed alongside said post.
This quickly garnered traction with articles reporting on the matter. Backlash ensued as 171 Jewish rabbis and supporters called for Apple, Disney, Amazon, and Google to halt their advertising efforts on X. They also requested the X app be removed from Apple and Google’s platforms.
Apple’s momentary pause follows after IBM announced it is doing the same last week. In a similar situation, the tech giant’s ads were reportedly found alongside pro-Nazi posts. At the time, Yaccarino attempted to put out the fires by claiming the platform had been “extremely clear about our efforts to combat antisemitism and discrimination”
X’s point of view has always been very clear that discrimination by everyone should STOP across the board — I think that's something we can and should all agree on. When it comes to this platform — X has also been extremely clear about our efforts to combat antisemitism and…
— Linda Yaccarino (@lindayaX) November 16, 2023
This isn’t the first time Apple has pulled ads off X. This time last year, Apple paused its advertising efforts after Musk’s takeover of the platform. This only lasted a few weeks until the company returned to X and began advertising again.
At the time of writing, Apple has not issued a public statement regarding the matter.
Image credit: X
Source: The Hollywood Reporter Via: 9to5Mac
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