Walmart scales back advertising on X

Walmart said Friday that it is scaling back its advertising on X, the social media company formerly known as Twitter, because "we've found some other platforms better for reaching our customers."

Walmart's decision has been in the works for a while, according to a person familiar with the move. Yet it comes as X faces an advertiser exodus following billionaire owner Elon Musk's support for an antisemitic post on the platform. 

The retailer spends about $2.7 billion on advertising each year, according to MarketingDive. In an email to CBS MoneyWatch, X's head of operations, Joe Benarroch, said Walmart still has a large presence on X. 

"Walmart has a wonderful community of more than a million people on X, and with a half a billion people on X, every year the platform experiences 15 billion impressions about the holidays alone with more than 50% of X users doing most or all of their shopping online," Benarroch said.

Musk expressed his defiance earlier this week at the New York Times' Dealbook Summit, where he strongly criticized advertisers who had distanced themselves from X. He used explicit language, telling them to "go f--- yourself." Musk also voiced his frustration about companies attempting to "blackmail me with advertising" by cutting off their spending with the platform. He warned that the loss of major advertisers could potentially "kill" X.

"And the whole world will know that those advertisers killed the company," Musk added.

Since Musk tweeted a post on the platform claiming that Jews were responsible for fomenting hatred against White people, numerous advertisers, including Apple, Coca Cola, and Disney, have withdrawn their support from X. Musk's tweet echoed antisemitic stereotypes and he referred to it as "the actual truth."

Advertisers generally avoid associating their brands and marketing messages with controversial content, as they fear it may tarnish their image with consumers.

According to a report by the New York Times, the loss of major advertisers could result in a revenue decline of up to $75 million for X.

On Wednesday, Musk admitted that his support of the antisemitic post was "one of the most foolish" things he had ever posted on X.

"I am quite sorry," he said, acknowledging that "I should in retrospect not have replied to that particular post."