Hyundai Pauses Ads On X After One Appears On Timeline With Antisemitic Posts
Hyundai suspended advertisements on the social media giant X this week after one of the company’s sponsored posts appeared next to antisemitic messages.
Nancy Levine Stearns, a freelance journalist, posted a screenshot of the Hyundai ad earlier this week, which appeared on in the feed of an X account that regularly shares Holocaust denials and antisemitic remarks alongside other conspiracy theories. NBC News first reported that Hyundai had suspended its ad campaign while it coordinated with X (formerly Twitter) to implement safety controls.
NEW: Hyundai Motor America spokesperson emailed me today about its ad on X appearing on a verified “Premium” account that posts pro-Hitler, antisemitic content:
“We are immediately removing from the site. We are updating our parameters to avoid other instances similar to this.” pic.twitter.com/Y2oK8AVjCl— Nancy Levine Stearns ✍️ (@nancylevine) April 17, 2024
“We have paused our ads on X and are speaking to X directly about brand safety to ensure this issue is addressed,” Hyundai said in a statement.
X confirmed to NBC that the account which shared the antisemitic remarks has since been suspended for violating the social media company’s policies.
“The Hyundai campaign was done self-serve, without the support of X’s direct sales team — and unfortunately, its agency Brunswick did not activate Brand Safety settings controls available to them,” Joe Benarroch, the head of X’s business operations division, said in a statement to The Hill. “Hyundai is considering its next steps as it refreshes the 6-week-old campaign.”
X has seen a proliferation of problematic content following Elon Musk’s 2022 acquisition of Twitter. The Anti-Defamation League said in November that hate speech had surged on X and increased on Facebook following Hamas’ Oct. 7 attack on Israel.
The rise in such speech prompted many companies to flee or suspend their ad buys late last year.
Musk has defended the site, saying there is less antisemitism on X than on its competitors.
“The outside audits that we have had done ... show that there is the least amount of antisemitism on X if you look at all the other social apps,” the billionaire said in an interview in January with far-right commentator Ben Shapiro.
