IBM has announced that it has frozen all its advertisements across the social media platform X, formerly known as Twitter.
The company took these actions after they found out that the ads had been running next to content promoting Adolf Hitler and the Nazi Party.
In a statement, IBM said, “IBM has zero tolerance for hate speech and discrimination and we have immediately suspended all advertising on X while we investigate this entirely unacceptable situation.”
The matter of the ads came to light when it was reported by Media watchdog Media Matters.
Media Matters said that it found corporate advertisements by IBM were being placed alongside antisemitic content.
Other brands whose advertisements were also affected were Apple, Oracle and Comcast’s Xfinity.
According to Reuters, Apple, Oracle and Xfinity did not immediately respond to requests for comment.
It also reported that X replied in a statement saying that its system does not intentionally place brands “actively next to this kind of content”, and the content cited by Media Matters would no longer be able to make money off its posts.
According to the news agency, the report comes a day after Musk endorsed an antisemitic post on X that falsely claimed members of the Jewish community were stoking hatred against white people.
In return, X CEO Linda Yaccarino made a statement, “When it comes to this platform – X has also been extremely clear about our efforts to combat antisemitism and discrimination.
She added, “There’s no place for it anywhere in the world – it’s ugly and wrong. Full stop”.
