Walmart stops advertising on X

Walmart, America’s largest employer and revenue-generating company, has decided to withdraw its advertisements from the platform now known as X, formerly Twitter, as reported to Reuters on Friday. This decision comes after the platform’s owner, Elon Musk, endorsed and spread antisemitic posts while simultaneously and publicly criticizing departing advertisers.

“We are no longer advertising on X as we’ve found other platforms to be more effective for reaching our customers,” shared a spokesperson from Walmart with Reuters.

This move by Walmart joins the increasingly extensive list of corporations that have removed their advertisements from X. Companies such as Apple, Disney, IBM, Comcast, and Warner Bros. Discovery are no longer investing in ad placements on the platform. A collective of advertisers hinted to The New York Times on Thursday about those temporary pauses likely turning into permanent ones.

“There is simply no advertising value that could compensate for the reputational risk of re-engaging with the platform,” commented Lou Paskalis, CEO of AJL Advisory, in conversation with the newspaper.

There has been no lack of motivation for these former advertisers to abandon X. The most recent self-inflicted damage by Musk started when he seemed to back a post falsely accusing Jewish communities of inciting hostility towards white individuals. Musk then responded to the user who initiated the racist “Great Replacement” conspiracy theory, claiming that their comments reflected “the actual truth.”

This situation was further inflamed when Media Matters, a watchdog group, released a report showcasing advertisements from well-known brands displayed adjacent to antisemitic content. In response, X filed a lawsuit against the organization, alleging that it had “knowingly and maliciously [constructed] images depicting side-by-side advertisers’ posts on X Corp.’s platform adjacent to Neo-Nazi and white nationalist fringe content.”

Musk’s attempt to rectify the situation only exacerbated it. While apologizing for promoting the antisemitic content at The New York Times’ DealBook event, he countered with a harsh message to advertisers retreating from the platform: “Go fuck yourself”. His company now risks losing an estimated $75 million.

Walmart, which employs around 1.6 million people in the U.S. and generated revenue of $611 billion in the fiscal year 2023, is among the many to distance themselves from the platform.