New York – Technology company IBM announced today that it is suspending all advertising on online video platform X, after it was revealed that IBM ads were appearing alongside pro-Nazi and other extremist content.
In a statement, IBM said it was “deeply troubled” to learn that its advertisements were being shown on pages containing hate speech and Nazi propaganda. “This is against our values as a company, and we have suspended all IBM advertising on X effective immediately,” the statement read.
This is not the first time X has come under fire for its content moderation policies. Over the past year, the site has faced growing criticism that its algorithms recommend increasingly extreme videos to users, leading them down rabbit holes towards radicalization.
Several major companies pulled advertising from X back in 2017, when it was discovered their ads were running alongside racist and anti-Semitic videos. X promised change at the time, but has continued to struggle with properly moderating hate speech.
IBM is one of the largest advertisers in the world, and its suspension deals a major financial blow to X. Advertising revenue accounts for the majority of X’s earnings.
Civil rights groups applauded IBM’s decision, saying it sent a powerful message to other advertisers and to X itself.
“Companies have a moral obligation not to support or fund hate of any kind,” said Margaret Huang, CEO of the Southern Poverty Law Center. “IBM has done the right thing by suspending its ads, and we hope this forces X to take the drastic action required to curb extremism on their platform.”
X did not immediately respond to a request for comment on IBM’s decision. The company has long maintained that objectionable content is an unfortunate but inevitable byproduct of its commitment to free speech.
But critics say this laissez-faire approach allows hate and radical ideologies to spread, and more advertisers may follow IBM’s lead if X does not take stronger action.
