The Washington Post has become the latest advertiser to halt advertising on X (formerly Twitter) after Elon Musk retweeted a conspiracy theory.
Musk showed support on Tuesday for Pizzagate, a debunked conspiracy theory that led a man to fire a rifle inside a Washington, D.C., restaurant in 2016.
The far-right theory, a predecessor to QAnon, alleged that the Clintons and Democratic Party leaders ran a secret satanic child sex ring in a D.C. pizzeria known as Comet Ping Pong.
The theory, a mainstay of fringe Donald Trump supporters during the 2016 presidential campaign, was labelled “fictitious” by D.C. police investigators.
He posted that it “does seem at least a little suspicious,” in reference to the meme, which claimed “Pizzagate is real” and that the expert who debunked the conspiracy “went to jail for child porn.”
It comes just a day after Musk returned from Israel, where he toured a kibbutz attacked by Hamas on October 7th, with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.
Disney, Apple, Paramount and Lionsgate all halted marketing on X as Musk faced a furore over antisemitic abuse on his social media platform.
Israeli President Isaac Herzog confronted Musk during his visit, saying that “the platforms you lead, unfortunately, have a huge reservoir of hatred, hatred of Jews and antisemitism”.
The mayor of Paris, which will host the Olympic games next summer, has also quit X, accusing Musk’s social media platform of spreading disinformation and hatred and becoming a “gigantic global sewer” that is toxic for democracy and constructive debate.
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