Elon Musk, the billionaire entrepreneur, has attempted to clarify a controversial comment he made last year, in an effort to attract advertisers back to his social media platform, X. Speaking at the Cannes Lions Festival, Musk explained that his remark telling advertisers to “go f— yourself” was not directed at the advertising industry as a whole, but was a statement on freedom of speech.
The comment led to a mass exodus of advertisers from X, including major corporations like Apple, IBM, Disney, and Sony. These companies had pulled their advertising in response to controversial comments made by Musk and instances of their ads being featured alongside offensive posts.
Musk stated that his comment was aimed at those advertisers who were insisting on censorship. He emphasized the importance of having a global free speech platform where people can voice a wide range of opinions. He further stated that if forced to choose between censorship and losing money, or free speech and losing money, he would choose the latter.
Musk’s attempt to clarify his stance comes as he tries to reassure ad groups and global brands about the future of X. He was joined by Linda Yaccarino, X’s CEO and former chairman of global advertising and partnerships for NBC Universal, at the Cannes Lions festival.
Despite Musk’s clarification, it remains to be seen how advertisers will respond and whether they will return to the platform.
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