The National Football League is sticking with X, formerly known as Twitter, as Elon Musk’s website faces an advertiser backlash over hate speech and anti-Semitism on the platform.
“I think X is in a very difficult business because of the content assessment that they have to deal with,” Brian Rolapp, the NFL’s head of media and business, told CNBC’s Julia Boorstin. continue to work with them because we clearly have the fans.”
The league did not comment further on the matter.
The NFL has partnered with the platform since 2013 as part of an effort to provide fans with exclusive content.
Since Musk took over last fall, the platform has been caught up in a number of controversies, including those surrounding X’s policy to reduce harmful content.
In the latest wave of pushback, companies like Apple and Disney have banned advertising on the platform.
Last week, Musk agreed with a post on stage accusing “Jewish communities” of pushing “hate against white people,” CNBC reported earlier this month. Musk has denied being antisemitic.
Earlier this month, the left-wing media watchdog site MediaMatters.org posted examples of Apple, Bravo and Oracle ads appearing next to antisemitic content on Musk’s platform. X on Monday sued Media Matters over the report, which coincided with an investigation launched by Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton into the watchdog’s site for possible fraudulent activity.
Meanwhile, more than two dozen House Democrats said Tuesday that X was profiting from violent content linked to Hamas and asked CEO Linda Yaccarino to explain the company’s plans to stop it. harmful content on the platform. Hamas, a Palestinian militant group, launched a terrorist attack on Israel on October 7, killing more than 1,000 people and taking more than 200 hostages.
Disclosure: NBCUniversal is the parent company of Bravo and CNBC.
– CNBC Julia Boorstin contributed to this article.
