World Bank Pulls Advertising From Twitter/X Over Ads Appearing Under Racist Content

The World Bank pulled its ads from Twitter/X after a CBS report showed its content appearing alongside white supremacist content.

The World Bank has pulled all of its paid advertising from X, formerly known as Twitter, after a report from CBS News indicated that its promoted content was above racist content from white supremacist accounts who also paid to advertise on the application.

CBS News reported that the account, which they are not publicly identifying, has more than 115,000 followers and regularly posts white nationalist and neo-Nazi content. The World Bank’s official X account has 3.8 million followers.

According to a statement given to CBS News by a spokesperson for the World Bank on Aug. 23, the group was already working with the platform to ensure strong safety protocols, but this latest incident was the last straw, and they have pulled their advertising entirely.

“The World Bank Group had already reduced its paid marketing on X while working with the platform to implement the strongest safety protocols X offers for our content. This latest incident is entirely unacceptable, and we are immediately ceasing all paid marketing on X.”

According to CBS News, the account has been populating on X over numerous businesses underneath multiple posts from the account sharing neo-Nazi content, including a video of Adolph Hitler, captioned, “We defeated the wrong enemy.”

Through its investigation, the outlet indicates that several “blue-check” accounts regularly post racist content and have their promoted content appear in the comments section of recognizable brands. The accounts seem to violate X’s terms of service, which state, in part, that users “may not attack other people on the basis of race, ethnicity, national origin, caste, sexual orientation, gender, gender identity, religious affiliation, age, disability, or serious disease.”

The terms of service also indicate that X prohibits the targeting of people or groups through media that depicts either the Holocaust or any “symbols historically associated with hate groups, e.g., the Nazi swastika.”

In March, Wired reported that in stark contrast to the stated terms of service, Elon Musk, the owner of X, allegedly suspended or banned accounts that revealed the identity of a neo-Nazi cartoonist known as Stonetoss after the cartoonist directly appealed to Musk.

Among those who had their accounts suspended for posting Stonetoss’ real name, Hans Kristian Graebener, were Jared Holt, a senior research analyst at the Institute for Strategic Dialogue, Hannah Gais, a senior research analyst at the Southern Poverty Law Center, and Steven Monacelli, an investigative reporter for the Texas Observer.

Monacelli told Wired before X changed its privacy policy to prohibit posting “the identity of an anonymous user, such as their name or media depicting them,” that “According to X’s terms of service, posting someone’s name does not constitute doxing, but, many accounts, including my own, have been made to delete posts that merely mention the name of the racist and antisemitic cartoonist Stonetoss. I’ve never seen enforcement like this before.”

In June, NBC News reported that Twitter/X was placing promoted ads with hashtags commonly used by white supremacists, which came nearly 18 months after Musk promised to demonetize hateful posts on the platform.

At the time, X stated to NBC News via email asserting its rules around violent and hateful speech.

“X has clear rules in place relating to violent and hateful speech, and robust protections in place for advertisers. One of our enforcement tools is to limit the reach of posts, which is not reflected in this research.”

However, according to Megan Squire, a deputy data director for the Southern Poverty Law Center, the platform’s enabling of extremist accounts to monetize and promote their content contradicts its attempts to become a cultural power player.

“It shows that it’s not top of mind, and it’s not on anyone’s to-do list for the week,” Squire told NBC News. “It’s a choice. They can’t have it both ways. If you’re going to have the power to weigh in on cultural issues, then that extends to the responsibility to use that power for good.”