Apple. Disney. IBM. NBCUniversal. Sony. These are just a few of the major companies that have stopped advertising campaigns on X, the platform formerly known as Twitter, in recent days.
Since then, numerous right-wing media companies and influencers have come together and pledged their support to Elon Musk and promised to advertise on X to make up for the loss of revenue caused by fleeing companies.
SEE ALSO: Elon Musk wants Twitter/X to replace your bank account. This is how it will work.
Last week, Elon Musk expressed support for an anti-Semitic conspiracy theory that claims Jewish groups are replacing whites with immigrants from minority groups. Musk’s endorsement of this conspiracy on These two issues combined appear to have led to a situation where many large companies felt they could no longer advertise on the platform.
The tweet may have been deleted
On Saturday, Seth Dillon, CEO of the conservative satire website Babylon Bee, said announced that his company would spend $250,000 on advertising on X to support “free speech.” Dillon’s support for Musk should come as no surprise. Babylon Bee’s suspension on what was then called Twitter was one of the reasons Musk was initially interested in taking over the social media platform.
Shortly afterwards, so did YouTuber Tim Pool pledged to spend the same amount on X ads “in the next few months.”
The tweet may have been deleted
Other right-wing media figures and corporations soon followed with their own pledges, albeit far smaller than the amounts promised by Dillon and Pool. Political commentator Benny Johnson, for example, pledged $50,000 for advertising expenses. Other right-wing creators such as The Quartering, Donut Operator, Gavin McInnes and Elijah Schaffer have pledged smaller amounts ranging from $2,500 to $40,000.
Controversial Andrew Tate, a “Manosphere” influencer previously accused of rape and human trafficking, pledged the largest amount: saying He would give Musk a million dollars a month without even advertising his own ventures.
“I will promote X on X, I will literally promote your own platform on this platform,” Tate wrote. “$1,000,000 per month. You don’t need other advertisers. Just let me know where to pay @elonmusk.”
It’s unclear whether Tate is serious or even has the means to donate essentially $12 million a year to X. When Tate was arrested earlier this year, Romanian authorities revealed he had assets worth approximately more than $10 million. That means Tate is promising Musk more than he has, an amount that would wipe out Tate’s fortune in less than 12 months.
But even taken at face value, Tate’s comment that Musk “wouldn’t need other advertisers” if Tate paid $1 million a month to X is clearly ridiculous.
At the time of publication, a total of eight right-wing media figures and groups have pledged $1,627,500 to purchase ads on X. This also includes Tate’s possibly dubious offer. In addition, most commitments run over several months, so the amount is not specified per month.
Compared to the amount X lost due to advertiser flight, Apple alone reportedly spends more than $100 million a year on X ads. More broadly, advertising accounted for 90 percent of the $5.1 billion Twitter earned in the year before Musk’s acquisition.
Musk has already done it expressed He expresses his appreciation for the advertising promises in a post on campaigns.
UPDATE: November 19, 2023, 7:08 p.m. EST This article has been updated to include additional details about Andrew Tate’s net worth.
Originally posted 2023-11-20 01:22:25.