Big-name brands have ended their advertising boycott against Elon Musk's X after approximately a year of refusing to support the platform.
Comcast, Discovery, Disney, IBM, Lionsgate Entertainment, and Warner Bros. have resumed their ad spending on X, with Musk thanking CEO Linda Yaccarino for her work on bringing the companies back onto his platform.
"Just want to say that we super appreciate major brands resuming advertising on our platform!" Musk wrote. "Thanks [Linda Yaccarino] and the whole X team for your hard work in restoring confidence in our platform and ensuring that advertising content only appears where advertisers want it shown."
In November 2023, the brands mentioned above (along with Apple) dialed back their ad campaigns after claims their branding appeared next to "anti-Semetic content" and "hate speech," AdWeek reported.
'The censorship apparatus is coming to an end.'
Without the major companies, brands like Karma Shopping and Canles Shoes became the top ad-buyers on X. Overall, ad revenue dropped by a reported 98% year over year, but Musk remained principled in his cause.
"I'll say what I want to say, and if the consequence of that is losing money, so be it," Musk told CNBC at the time.
Political commentator Ian Miles Cheong called the boycott a failed effort "the moment Donald Trump won the election."
"The censorship apparatus is coming to an end, and the advertisers know it. Beyond that, advertisers can undoubtedly see the strength of X, and depriving themselves of profits for the sake of sticking it to Elon clearly doesn't work," Cheong added.
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The new report comes after claims in September that there would be a mass exodus of advertisers from the platform over concerns of "extreme content" that could damage brand images.
However, that was after X announced a lawsuit against major advertisers in August, following a House Judiciary Committee report that pointed to an illegal boycott against the company.
The World Federation of Advertisers, which represents some of the world's largest companies and advertisers, was accused of directly organizing boycotts and targeting disfavored platforms, content creators, and news organizations in an effort to demonetize them.
BlazeTV host James Poulos said the smoke surrounding the advertising conflict was cleared once the nature of the report was revealed.
"Rather than mild-mannered normies afraid of controversial content on X, advertisers operate as a cartel of far-left propagandists, reaping profits from taxpayers on government contracts while conspiring to silence free speech at odds with their radical ideologies."
Concurrently, many left-wing celebrities are announcing plans to leave X. This includes MSNBC's Joy Reid, who said she doesn't want to support the platform, and ex-CNN host Don Lemon, who claimed he disagrees with the new terms of service.
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The Guardian, a British, left-leaning news outlet, and former CNN anchor Don Lemon separately announced that they will no longer be posting on X.
On Wednesday morning, the newspaper published an article explaining its reasoning behind leaving the social media site. According to the Guardian, the "benefits" of posting on the platform no longer outweigh the so-called "negatives," noting that its resources would be better spent elsewhere.
'They are irrelevant.'
The Guardian blamed "disturbing content" on X, citing "far-right conspiracy theories and racism."
"The U.S. presidential election campaign served only to underline what we have considered for a long time: that X is a toxic media platform and that its owner, Elon Musk, has been able to use its influence to shape political discourse," the news outlet wrote.
While the Guardian stated that it will no longer post on the site, it noted that its reporters will continue using X for "news-gathering purposes."
"X now plays a diminished role in promoting our work," the newspaper declared, adding that its "business model does not rely on viral content tailored to the whims of the social media giants' algorithms."
At the bottom of its article, the Guardian requested donations from readers to help it "stand up to four more years of Donald Trump."
Former CNN host Don Lemon posted a similar farewell message on his X account.
After Lemon was fired by the network last year, he tried to negotiate an exclusive content partnership with Musk on X to start his new independent show. The deal collapsed after Lemon made excessive contract demands and conducted an awkward interview with Musk, pushing for censorship on the platform.
Lemon told his X followers on Wednesday morning, "It's time for me to leave the platform."
He claimed that he previously viewed X as "a place for honest debate and discussion, transparency, and free speech."
"But I now feel it does not serve that purpose," Lemon remarked.
"In addition, starting this Friday, November 15, X is implementing new terms of service, which among other things states that 'All disputes … be brought exclusively in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Texas or state courts located in Tarrant County, Texas," he continued.
He cited a Washington Post article that claimed the platform's new terms of service "ensure[] that such lawsuits will be heard in courthouses that are a hub for conservatives, which experts say could make it easier for X to shield itself from litigation and punish critics."
"I think that speaks for itself," Lemon declared.
X users annihilated both the Guardian and Lemon in the comments of their departure announcement posts.
In response to the Guardian's decision to leave, Musk responded, "They are irrelevant."
Multiple X users mocked the news outlet for announcing its departure from the platform.
Influencer DC Draino, whose real name is Rogan O'Handley, told Lemon that "nobody cares" that he will no longer be on X.
Conservative filmmaker Robby Starbuck replied to Lemon, stating, "I give it one month before you can't help yourself and come back on here."
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