Elon Musk is sticking to his guns even as tech giant Apple Inc. AAPL joined other big companies like Disney, Warner Bros. Discovery and IBM in pulling advertisements from X, formerly Twitter.
What Happened: Musk said he is sticking to his principles after reports of several big companies pulling advertisements from X due to his posts supporting antisemitic conspiracy theories, amid the ongoing Israel-Hamas war.
"I am sticking to my principles!" Musk said in response to a post by Replit CEO Amjad Masad.
See Also: Apple, Lions Gate Join IBM In Pushback Against Elon Musk, Twitter Over Antisemitic Content
"As for any fake advocacy groups who seek to suppress free speech, they should remember that karma is real," he added, pointing fingers at Media Matters and the Anti-Defamation League.
Musk's anger at Media Matters is quite evident from his other posts, too.
In one such post, Musk called it an "evil organization".
The outrage against Musk and X stems from an antisemitic theory that Musk endorsed earlier this week. Responding to allegations of "Jewish communities" pushing white hatred, Musk called it the "actual truth."
This has drawn sharp criticism from Jewish leaders, who called on companies like Apple, Disney and Amazon to "stop funding X through their ad spend."
The Walt Disney Co. DIS, Warner Bros. Discovery Inc. WBD, and Lions Gate Entertainment Corp. LGF have also stopped advertising on X for now.
Earlier this week, nonprofit Media Matters reported that ads of big companies like Apple, IBM, Oracle, Bravo, and Xfinity, among others, are being displayed next "to content that touts Adolf Hitler and his Nazi Party."
This prompted IBM Corp. IBM to immediately pull ads from X.
Why It Matters: X has been in focus for antisemitic content and hate speech on the platform. In June, Australia's eSafety Commissioner sent a notice to X and asked it to explain how it is handling the rise in hate on the platform.
Later in August, X sued another nonprofit organization, Center for Countering Digital Hate, for perpetuating "false or misleading assertions" and discouraging advertisers from running ads on the platform.
Interestingly, this is the second instance of Apple pulling its ads from X — almost a year ago, the company stopped advertising on the platform, prompting Musk to ask the company's chief Tim Cook "what's going on?".
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