After Ads Displayed Near Pro-Nazi Content, Two Brands Halt Advertising on X

Following the revelation that their ads, along with those of other companies, were featured on an account promoting fascism, at least two brands have decided to suspend their advertising on X, the platform formerly known as Twitter.

This issue arose less than a week after X CEO Linda Yaccarino reaffirmed the company's dedication to ensuring brand safety for advertisers.

Media Matters for America, a nonprofit news watchdog, detailed in a report published on Wednesday that ads from various well-known brands had been displayed on the account in question. This account had been sharing content that glorified Hitler and the Nazi Party.

Mainstream brands such as Adobe, Gilead Sciences, the University of Maryland's football team, New York University Langone Hospital, and NCTA-The Internet and Television Association had their ads featured alongside tweets from the pro-Nazi account, some of which received hundreds of thousands of views, as reported by CNN.

Upon being alerted by CNN about their ads appearing alongside such disturbing content, representatives from NCTA and pharmaceutical company Gilead swiftly halted their ad spending on X. NCTA spokesperson Brian Dietz expressed deep concern about the placement of their ads near offensive material.

He stated that NCTA takes responsible ad placement seriously and had subscribed to X's brand safety measures, which include keyword restrictions and limiting ad placement to the targeted audiences' home feed.

Dietz emphasized that brand safety remains a top priority for NCTA, leading them to suspend advertising on X for the foreseeable future and significantly curtail NCTA's organic presence on the platform.

This development occurs as X has been striving to entice advertisers back to the platform after experiencing a decline due to concerns about content moderation, extensive layoffs, and uncertainties surrounding the platform's direction following Elon Musk's takeover last fall. In a recent announcement, Musk acknowledged a nearly 50% drop in core advertising revenue, resulting in ongoing negative cash flow for the company.