Ads are appearing alongside far-right figures' profiles, as well as influencers such as Andrew Tate, who helped spread misinformation after the Southport attacks.
analysis revealed paid-for adverts for many high-profile companies are appearing next to controversial posters.appear under tweets from Paul Golding, one of Britain’s most notorious fascists and co-leader of the far-right group Britain First. Golding, who has been jailed for a series of hate crimes against Muslims, was banned from Twitter in 2017 for posting anti-Muslim videos.
Manchester Central, which is advertised as “an award-winning venue in the heart of one of Europe’s most vibrant cities”, has also paused its adverts on X after being alerted to‘s findings. A spokesperson said: “We are extremely concerned to learn that advertising has appeared alongside hate speech on the X platform.”
Tommy Robinson, the co-founder of the English Defence League, had his X profile reactivated by Musk last year after been banned in 2018. However digital advertising experts say these far-right accounts still contribute to X’s ability to generate revenue by bringing people to the platform. Others include Golding’s fellow Britain First co-founder Ashlea Simon British far-right writers Katie Hopkins and Milo Yiannopoulos, plus US alt-right figures Anthime Gionet and Rogan O’Handley. Since being allowed back onto to X, their hugely popular profiles have racked up millions of views and boosted revenue for Musk.
Although it is difficult to calculate exactly how much Mr Musk has made from reinstating these individuals, last year the CCDH estimated that 10 “toxic” reinstated accounts could have generated up to $19m in advertising revenue for X. Those profiles included Tate but did not include Robinson, Golding or Simon.
According to X’s website, a brand may opt for a “standard” sensitivity, which would see their adverts avoid “targeted hate speech, explicit sexual content, gratuitous gore, excessive profanity”. The second appeared below a post from Golding with a video he captioned: “Mobs of African migrants enrich British culture in Bradford.” The racist post shows men fighting on the street.
An advert from industry leading computer security company McAfee was shown alongside a conspiratorial post from Andrew Tate claiming people are supporting “the destruction of free speech in the UK” and that “history shows may get shot last but they’ll still be shot”. Looking at the average number of impressions generated on his posts in the last week, if that number proved stable throughout the year, Golding’s account could bring in an estimated $70,500 for X. Golding has a verified account which makes him eligible for a cut of these proceeds.
The billionaire owner of X went on the offensive when Starmer demanded platforms like Musk’s must do better to combat misinformation and hate speech. “Our mission is to create a safe digital world for all, and we’re committed to doing all we can to help our customers live their lives online safely and with confidence.”
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