X is placing ads for Amazon, NBA Mexico, NBCUniversal, and others next to content with white nationalist hashtags
Media Matters for AmericaNov 17, 2023
The Facts
Elon Musk's X (formerly Twitter) sued Media Matters for America (MMFA) on Monday, after the liberal advocacy group claimed that X had displayed ads for major corporations next to neo-Nazi and white nationalist content.
MMFA's report, published last Friday, alleged that companies including Apple, Amazon, IBM, and Oracle had their adverts displayed next to hashtags and search results that promoted far-right ideologies. The report added: "Musk has opened the floodgates to hateful content by reversing bans on anti-Muslim bigots, white nationalists, and antisemites."
The Spin
Narrative A
Not only has Elon Musk himself promoted antisemitic conspiracy theories in recent days, but it's unquestionable that the number of hateful posts has risen on X — particularly as Musk reversed numerous bans on firms and users that typically produce provocative content. Advertisers are within their rights to pull their money from X.
Narrative B
This report was produced by manipulating the typical experience of users on X, creating a false impression that adverts are routinely placed next to hateful content. The platform has been working extremely hard on its content moderation policies, and the data that X will provide at the lawsuit will prove MMFA's claims wrong.
Nerd narrative
There's a 99% chance that Elon Musk will remain the owner of X on Jan. 1, 2024, according to the Metaculus prediction community.
