X/Twitter owner Elon Musk. Photo: Reuters/Jaap Arriens

The European Union’s top executive body has suspended advertising on the X/Twitter social media platform, citing concerns over the spread of antisemitism and disinformation concerning the ongoing war in Gaza between Israel and the Hamas terrorist organization.

The decision came amid a new antisemitism controversy involving Elon Musk — the platform’s billionaire CEO — who effusively endorsed an antisemitic posting on Wednesday.

In an internal communication to staff that was first reported by Politico‘s Brussels bureau, Dana Spinant — the deputy chief spokesperson of the European Commission — noted the “widespread concerns relating to the spread of disinformation” on X/Twitter.

The profusion of disinformation regarding the current war in Gaza, triggered by the Hamas pogrom in southern Israel on Oct. 7, had led the Commission to “recommend to temporarily suspend advertising on this platform until further notice to avoid risks of reputational damage,” Spinant wrote.

Spinant added that the Commission “will consider using alternative platforms (e.g., LinkedIn, Instagram, or Facebook) or digital advertising on websites, as appropriate. We are also exploring new platforms to diversify our social media presence.”

According to Politico, the Musk-owned platform has been under “growing scrutiny in Europe as a result of the bloc’s new content moderation law, the Digital Services Act (DSA). The Commission, which enforces the law, in October sent a formal request for information to the company to explain how its handling of illegal content and disinformation connected to Hamas’ October 7 attack complies with the DSA.”

The latest storm around Musk’s ongoing flirtation with antisemitic tropes concerned his endorsement of an unambiguously antisemitic post.

An account belonging to “The Artist Formerly Known as Eric” accused “Jewish communties [sic]” of “pushing the exact kind of dialectical [sic] hatred against whites that they claim to want people to stop using against them.”

Invoking the “Great Replacement Theory” — a far right conspiracy theory holding that white people are being systematically displaced by immigrants of color — the posting continued: “I’m deeply disinterested in giving the tiniest s—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 then retweeted the post, adding the comment: “You have said the actual truth.”

https://twitter.com/elonmusk/status/1724908287471272299

As well as the European Commission, top corporations are considering ending advertising campaigns on X/Twitter, which has seen its revenues collapse over the last year against the background of Musk’s antics.

On Friday, IBM announced that it was suspending advertising. “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,” a spokesperson for the company said.

Similar moves are being considered by Apple, Oracle, and NBC Universal.

Top executives are also piling the pressure on Musk. Facebook co-founder Dustin Moskovitz, who is also CEO of project-management software maker Asana Inc., called on the billionaire to resign, while Kristin Hull, founder and chief executive officer of Nia Impact Capital, a social-impact fund that owns nearly $300,000 of stock in Tesla, the electric car manufacturer also owned by Musk, said she was “appalled.”

“The impact of erratic, racist, and antisemitic speech from a CEO directly affects Tesla’s brand and bottom line in significant ways,” Hull said on Thursday. “This behavior has the power to tarnish the brand long-term.” She recommended that an appropriate response to Musk’s actions would include “censure by the Board, demotion, re-assignment, suspension, or removal.”

As well as calling for Musk to step down, Moskovitz urged X/Twitter’s recently appointed CEO, Linda Yaccarino, to resign from her post.

However, in a tweet on Thursday, Yaccarino appeared to back Musk, insinuating that alleged anti-white racism was as serious a problem as antisemitism or racism targeting minorities.

“X’s point of view has always been very clear that discrimination by everyone should STOP across the board — I think that’s something we can and should all agree on,” she wrote. “When it comes to this platform — X has also been extremely clear about our efforts to combat antisemitism and discrimination. There’s no place for it anywhere in the world — it’s ugly and wrong. Full stop.”