Elon Musk has recently sought to distance himself from his previous harsh statements against advertisers who left his social network, X. Initially, Musk told major brands to “go to hell,” but now he is trying to bring them back to the platform. According to CNBC, at the 2024 Cannes Lions advertising festival in France, WPP CEO Mark Read asked Musk about his comments directed at advertisers threatening to pull their ads from X late last year.
Musk clarified that his statements were a general point about free speech and not an attack on the advertising industry as a whole. “This was not addressed to all advertisers,” Musk stated. He emphasized the importance of having a global platform for the free expression of people with diverse views. “In some cases, advertisers have insisted on censoring content,” Musk said. “But ultimately, if we have to choose between censorship and loss of money or freedom of speech and financial loss, we will choose the latter.” He added, “We intend to defend freedom of speech, not agree to censorship for money, and not allow advertisers to blackmail us. This, in my opinion, is the morally correct decision.”
Efforts to Rebuild Relationships
NIX Solutions reminds that last year, major advertisers, including Apple, IBM, Disney, and Sony, stopped advertising on X due to Musk’s controversial statements and incidents of their ads appearing next to toxic content, which had become more common on the platform. In November, Musk traveled to Israel to meet with local officials after human rights activists accused him of fueling anti-Semitic sentiment on X. When asked whether the trip was an apology tour to advertisers, Musk responded at the 2023 DealBook summit in New York, saying advertisers threatening to pull ads from X should “go to hell.”
However, on Wednesday, Musk retracted his previous statements. “Of course, advertisers have the right to place their ads next to content that is consistent with their brand,” he said, softening his tone. Musk acknowledged the issue lies in advertisers’ demands to ban content they do not favor on the platform. He further stated that to make X a global public platform, it is crucial to champion freedom of speech within the law, rather than the ability to publish illegal content.
We’ll keep you updated on any further developments as Musk continues to navigate the complex relationship between free speech and advertising on X.