Amazon is reportedly ramping up its advertising spend on Elon Musk’s social media platform X, according to the Wall Street Journal. This marks a significant shift from the e-commerce giant’s decision to pull much of its advertising from the platform over a year ago due to concerns about hate speech.
The move follows a period of decreased ad spending on X by other major companies, including Apple, which removed its ads in 2023. However, Apple has since engaged in discussions about testing ads on the platform again. Other advertisers, including tech and media companies, also suspended their campaigns after Musk’s endorsement of an antisemitic post, which falsely accused Jewish people of inciting hatred against white people.
Since Musk’s acquisition of the platform, formerly known as Twitter, in October 2022, X has seen a sharp decline in monthly U.S. ad revenue—dropping at least 55% year-over-year each month. Musk has acknowledged the risk of a prolonged advertising boycott, admitting that it could potentially bankrupt the platform.