X, formerly Twitter, is facing further repercussions as Paris Hilton’s 11:11 Media pulls out of its partnership with the platform due to concerns about antisemitic content and pro-Nazi material. The high-profile campaign, which would have featured Hilton promoting key X features over a two-year period, has now been canceled. Hilton had even contributed a sparkly pink custom icon for X’s Premium subscribers, but the deal terms, which included a revenue-sharing component, had to be abandoned. The concerns have led 11:11 Media to immediately pull the campaign from the platform, joining a growing list of brands who have paused or stopped spending on X due to similar worries about brand safety.
The mounting concerns have caused a significant impact on X revenues, with many advertisers reconsidering their spend on the platform. X’s U.S. ad revenues are reportedly down by 60%, and the platform was on track for a 54.4% year-over-year decline in worldwide ad spending from 2022 to 2023. Despite X CEO Linda Yaccarino’s assurances that the platform has brand safety controls in place, concerns remain about ads appearing next to hate speech and antisemitic content. Media Matters showed how X was running ads next to hateful content, leading to a defamation lawsuit from X. The real impact of these concerns, along with Musk’s own endorsement of antisemitic conspiracy theories on the platform, is causing a ripple effect throughout the advertising industry as other big names reconsider their spending on X.