Elon Musk has slammed the companies that stopped advertising on X/Twitter. He said they can ‘go f**k yourself’.
Many big brands have reportedly quit the social media app in recent weeks and months. A report from Media Matters for America revealed that 50 of the top 100 advertisers on X/Twitter have left. They spent nearly $2 billion on the platform since 2020.
Musk spoke about this issue at the 2023 DealBook Summit in New York. He did not hold back his words.
“If somebody’s gonna try to blackmail me with advertising? Blackmail me with money? Go f**k yourself,” he said.
“Don’t advertise.”
That was a bold statement.
Interviewer Andrew Ross Sorkin was shocked by the comments. He struggled to find his next question.
But Musk had more to say.
“The whole world will know that those advertisers killed the company and we will document it in great detail,” Musk said. He warned the companies that left or are thinking of leaving.
Musk has faced criticism for posting and sharing tweets on X/Twitter that some people considered antisemitic.
He admitted that they were ‘one of the most foolish if not the most foolish thing I’ve ever done on the platform’.
But he denied that he is against Jewish people.
“I’m sorry for that tweet or post,” he said.
“I tried my best to clarify, six ways to Sunday, but you know at least I think over time it will be obvious that in fact, far from being antisemitic, I am in fact philosemitic.”
Media Matters for America said antisemitism is not the only problem that X/Twitter has faced in the past year.
“Elon Musk has continued his rash of brand unsafe actions — including amplifying conspiracy theories, unilaterally reinstating banned accounts such as that of former President Donald Trump, courting and engaging with far-right accounts, and instituting a haphazard verification scheme that allowed extremists and scammers to purchase a blue check. This last move, in particular, opened the platform up to a variety of fraud and brand imitations,” it said.
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