X continues losing major advertisers as Elon Musk treats the social media platform as his personal diary. Disney is the latest to leave X in advertising, but it doesn't stop there as several accounts have also gone dark.
Disney's X Accounts Go Silent
Given Disney's extensive list of subsidiaries, many X accounts are also under the entertainment giant. Following its exit from advertising, several accounts are no longer posting on the platform, especially those affiliated with ESPN.
Since Friday, accounts like the primary ESPN, NBA on ESPN, First Take, NFL on ESPN, and ESPN Plus have been silent. Others like ESPN FC, ESPN College Football, SportsCenter, ESPN PR Account, and ESPN Desportes have posted, but some have done so limitedly.
This exodus was prompted by yet another controversial post from the X owner, particularly the tech billionaire agreeing with an antisemitic conspiracy theory stating that Jewish communities were pushing "hatred against whites.
Disney is not the only company that Elon Musk has driven out of the microblogging platform, which extended to Marvel Entertainment. According to The Verge, major advertisers like Apple, Warner Bros. Discovery, and IBM have left X's advertising.
This is yet another sign that the platform is headed downhill. The recent changes and policies are already angering some of the users who have been on X long before it was rebranded, and it is only now that they are seriously considering leaving X.
X's slow collapse has also been apparent with the latest revealed valuation of the company. The Tesla CEO acquired Twitter for $44 billion, which was already above its actual value. Since then, the company has been losing money and is now only worth $19 billion.
The loss of advertisers was one of the many things that put the company in hot waters, and their continuing to do so can only be bad news, especially since X's major source of revenue is advertising among Musk's pricing and subscription changes.
Another 'Thermonuclear' Tantrum
A year prior, big companies like General Motors, Pfizer, and Audi had left the platform's advertising services, and Musk responded with a threat. The X owner said that there will be a "thermonuclear name & shame" if it continues.
Poetically, the same is happening right now. Also struggling with the exit of major brands, Musk threatens to file a "thermonuclear lawsuit" against advertisers who are planning to do the same thing, effectively creating a parallel from last year's advertiser exodus.
It doesn't bode well for Elon Musk that the same theory has been referenced by Robert Bowers, a convicted murderer who killed 11 people at the Tree of Life synagogue in Pittsburgh back in 2018. The incident was regarded as the deadliest antisemitic attack in US history, as per Independent.
The X owner even said that "many of the largest advertisers are the greatest oppressors of your right to free speech," all while ironically threatening to sue them when they exercise their right to refrain from working with someone with contradicting beliefs.
