Fear and favor are bringing advertisers back to X under Musk

A hot potato: Advertisers who abandoned X en masse following Elon Musk's takeover are returning to the platform. Companies had been concerned about associating with the service and Musk's controversial antics, but it seems his position in the Trump administration is convincing firms to return in the hope there will be political benefits. In November 2023, IBM suspended its advertising on former X, formerly Twitter, after a report from a media watchdog said one of its ads appeared next to posts that promoted Hitler and the Nazi party. Apple, Walt Disney, Comcast, Warner Bros, and others also suspended advertising on the platform, leading to a frustrated Musk telling the advertisers to "go f**k yourself" and insisting he didn't want them back. Musk later claimed his profane statement was more of a point highlighting freedom of speech. Since then, Musk has become a senior advisor to President Trump and found himself head of the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE). Now, X is on ... Read full article.