Disney Pulls Ads From X After Steep Rise in Hate Speech

On October 7, 2023, the Palestinian terrorist group Hamas launched an unprecedented attack on Israel. The attack caused Israeli President Benjamin Netanyahu to launch a full-scale war against Hamas. Unfortunately, thousands of innocent Palestinians and Israelis have been caught in the crossfire — with more than 12,000 people having been reported as killed.

Unlike many prior wars, this war has people around the world torn on which side they fall on. While Hamas did start the war with the attack on Israel, many are siding with the Palestinian people since Israeli Defense Forces have been accused of killing innocent Palestinians long before the war started.

One of the big places that people go to voice their opinions on the war is the social media platform X — formerly known as Twitter. They share their thoughts and feelings on what is happening in the Middle East. Sadly, some go so far as to take their frustrations out on people who are innocent in all of this. Since the way, the platform has seen a drastic rise in hate speech.

X does have a hate speech policy, but many think that it is not being enforced at all. The non-profit organization Media Matters released a report on Thursday, November 16, that said X was placing ads for major companies like Apple and Disney next to tweets praising Adolf Hitler and the Nazi Party.

As X owner Elon Musk continues his descent into white nationalist and antisemitic conspiracy theories, his social media platform has been placing ads for major brands like Apple, Bravo (NBCUniversal), IBM, Oracle, and Xfinity (Comcast) next to content that touts Adolf Hitler and his Nazi Party. The company’s placements come after CEO Linda Yaccarino claimed that brands are “protected from the risk of being next to” toxic posts on the platform. 

After the report was released, companies quickly started pulling their ads from X. It began with IBM, who said they have “zero tolerance for hate speech,” and will be investigating the situation.

Shortly after IBM pulled its advertising, Disney and Apple followed suit, which could become a very big issue for X. Earlier this year, Musk thanked Apple and Disney because they were two of the biggest advertisers the platform had.

At the conference, Musk highlighted Disney and Apple as remaining advertisers on the site, and said that the team is focused on brand safety, but added that brand safety depends on the company (whether it’s family-friendly or not) and their ability to choose what kind of content they want to put their advertising next to.

“It’s really up to the advertiser where they want to put their content. But I think by far the most important thing is that the advertising is effective, that it is relevant and that it moves the needle for a company,” he said. 

Disney has not commented on its decision to pull its ads from X. The move comes as the company makes a final push in advertising its newest movie, Wish, which will be released nationwide on November 22.

Bob Iger Speaks Out on the War

Less than one week after the attack on Israel, Disney released a statement, condemning the violence. Disney CEO Bob Iger is personally affected by what is going on in not only the Middle East, but also in the United States, since he is Jewish. The company announced that it would be donating $2 million to organizations that are providing humanitarian relief in the area.

Is X Actually Trying to Stop Hate Speech?

According to X’s Help Center, hate speech is not allowed on the platform.

You may not directly attack other people on the basis of race, ethnicity, national origin, caste, sexual orientation, gender, gender identity, religious affiliation, age, disability, or serious disease. 

X CEO Linda Yaccarino said that X was a safe place for companies to advertise and that the site was actively working to shut down the hate speech. However, Elon Musk — the owner of X — didn’t seem to support that statement when he commented on a tweet that many deemed antisemitic.

Tweet: Okay.

Jewish communties have been pushing the exact kind of dialectical hatred against whites that they claim to want people to stop using against them.

I’m deeply disinterested in giving the tiniest sh*t now about western Jewish populations coming to the disturbing realization that those hordes of minorities that support flooding their country don’t exactly like them too much. You want truth said to your face, there it is.

Musk: You have said the actual truth.

You have said the actual truth

— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) November 15, 2023

Musk has said that he intends to sue Media Matters for the “fraudulent attack” on his company. At this time, we do not know if he has a legal leg to stand on — that will depend on whether the statements made in the Media Matters report can be backed up by facts.

Do you think Disney was right in pulling its ads from X? Let us know in the comments.