Walmart, the largest retailer, will also stop advertising on social media X (formerly Twitter).
According to the Associated Press and Bloomberg News on the 1st, Walmart said in a statement that day, “We no longer advertise on X,” and “We have found a better platform to reach consumers. “Regarding this, Joe Benaroque, X’s head of business operations, said, “Walmart has not advertised on “I do it,” he said.
Walmart’s announcement to suspend advertising came as major U.S. companies continued to suspend advertising.
Prior to Walmart, Walt Disney, IBM, NBCUniversal and parent company Comcast decided to stop advertising for X.
Musk recently posted an article supporting anti-Semitic conspiracy claims, the loss of advertisers began in earnest.
Early last month, a report by media watchdog Media Matters came out, saying that companies’ advertisements were placed next to Nazi-praising content posted on X. In response, there were also Musk’s efforts to overcome the crisis.
On the 27th of last month, Musk visited Israel in person and confronted Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, who emphasized the “annihilation of Hamas,” by saying, “There is no choice,” and visited a kibbutz (collective farm) that was attacked by Hamas.
However, on the 28th of last month, in a public conversation at NYT’s ‘Deal Book Summit’, he again became the centre of controversy by shouting “Go away” along with profanity including a word starting with ‘f’, saying that the suspension of advertising by companies was related to intimidation.
CEO Yacarino is concerned that the brand image may be damaged as hate and harmful expressions increase due to Musk’s relaxation of regulations on content, AP reported.
AP reported, “There are no signs of improvement in the relationship between X and advertisers.”