Several right-wing influencers have pledged financial support for Elon Musk-owned X after major companies suspended advertising on the social media site in the wake of his post supporting an antisemitic trope.
The high-profile influencers, including accused rapist Andrew Tate, have rushed to Musk’s defense with offers to buy more than $1.6 million worth of ads on X, according to Mashable.
That amount would be a drop in the bucket compared to the tens of millions companies like Apple spent before the iPhone maker announcing it was suspending advertising on X on Friday.
Tate, the “manosphere” influencer who has been accused of rape and sex trafficking by Romanian authorities, has offered Musk monthly payments of $1 million.
“I will advertise X on X, I will literally promote your own platform on this platform,” Tate wrote on his X social media page.
“1,000,000 USD a month. You dont need other advertisers. Simply let me know where to pay @elonmusk.”
It’s unclear if he actually has the financial resources to follow through on his pledge, Mashable reported.
Another Musk ally, Seth Dillon, the CEO of the conservative satirical news site Babylon Bee, said his company would spend $250,000 to advertise on X.
“They attack Musk because they hate freedom, and they hate freedom because it threatens their power to control the narrative. It really is that simple,” Dillon wrote on his X account on Saturday.
Dillon lashed out at blue-chip companies including IBM, Disney, Comcast, Warner Bros., Lionsgate, Paramount Global and Apple for “pulling their ad spend to punish Musk for the crime of letting free people speak.”
He wrote that the quarter-million-dollar sum was “not a lot compared to the budgets of the anti-speech bullies, but it’s something.”
“And hopefully it will be multiplied by others who join us,” Dillon wrote.
Tim Pool, the host of the popular Timcast political podcast, said he would match Dillon’s pledge of $250,000 “over the next few months.”
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Benny Johnson, a right-leaning political commentator, pledged $50,000 in ad spending while other online personalities such as Gavin McInnes and Elijah Schaffer offered smaller amounts ranging from $2,500 to $40,000.
The Post has sought comment from X.
Musk posted a message late on Sunday denying that he was antisemitic while denouncing “bogus media stories claiming” that he hated Jews.
“Nothing could be further from the truth,” the Tesla mogul wrote on his X platform, adding: “I wish only the best for humanity and a prosperous and exciting future for all.”
Musk sparked backlash last week when he reacted positively to a post which claimed that “Jewish communities” were promoting “hatred against whites” by supporting “hordes of minorities” who were immigrating to Western countries.
“You have said the actual truth,” Musk wrote in response to the incendiary claim.
Musk’s endorsement of the incendiary claim coincided with a report by the Democratic Party-aligned watchdog group Media Matters for America which compiled a list of companies whose ads appeared next to Nazi-themed content on X.
Bill Ackman, the billionaire hedge fund manager, came to Musk’s defense over the weekend, writing that the X owner “is not an antisemite.”
“It is remarkable how quickly the world stands ready to attack Musk for his shoot from the hip commentary,” Ackman wrote.
Ackman, who in recent weeks has taken to X to denounce pro-Palestinian activists on college campuses, wrote that while Musk was “not perfect,” the world “is a vastly better place because of him.”
Linda Yaccarino, the CEO of X, has come under pressure from her peers in the advertising industry to quit in protest of Musk’s alleged antisemitism.
Yaccarino, who was hired by Musk to help X lure back advertisers who were scared off by his freewheeling management style after he acquired the company formerly known as Twitter for $44 billion last year, has been encouraged to jump ship so as to save her reputation, according to Financial Times.
Thus far, however, Yaccarino has refused to resign, insisting that she believes in the company’s mission as well as its employees.
