Elon Musk softens ‘go f— your self’ remark to woo advertisers

Elon Musk on Wednesday tried to stroll again remarks lashing out at advertisers fleeing his X social media platform.

On the Cannes Lions promoting pageant in Cannes, France, Musk was requested by WPP CEO Mark Learn what he meant by telling advertisers threatening to tug adverts from the platform late final 12 months to “go f— your self.”

Musk mentioned it was meant as a normal level on free speech somewhat than a remark to the broader promoting trade.

“It wasn’t to advertisers as a whole,” Musk mentioned. “It was with respect to freedom of speech, I think it is important to have a global free speech platform, where people from a wider range of opinions can voice their views.”

“In some cases, there were advertisers who were insisting on censorship,” Musk mentioned. “At the end of the day … if we have to make a choice between censorship and losing money, [or] censorship and money, or free speech and losing money, we’re going to choose the second.”

“We’re going to support free speech rather than agree to be censored for money which I think is the right moral decision,” he added.

Musk flew into Cannes earlier this week with an purpose to reassure advert teams and world manufacturers over the way forward for X.

He was joined by Linda Yaccarino, X’s CEO and former chairman of worldwide promoting and partnerships for NBC Common.

Final 12 months, a number of the world’s largest advertisers together with Apple, IBM, Disney, and Sony pulled their promoting on X within the wake of controversial feedback made by Musk, in addition to situations of their advert placements being featured alongside poisonous posts.

In November, Musk travelled to Israel to satisfy with native officers after he was accused by civil rights teams of amplifying anti-Jewish hatred on X.

The tech billionaire, requested on the time whether or not this journey was an “apology tour” to advertisers, mentioned onstage at 2023 DealBook Summit in New York that advertisers threatening to halt spending on adverts on the platform ought to cease promoting on his platform.

“Don’t advertise,” he mentioned within the November interview with CNBC’s Andrew Ross Sorkin. “If somebody is going to try and blackmail me with advertising? Blackmail me with money? Go f— yourself.”

Musk on Wednesday backpedalled on his assaults towards advertisers.

“Of course, advertisers have a right to appear next to content they find compatible with their brands,” he mentioned. “What is not cool is insisting that there can be no content that they disagree with on the platforms.”

He added: “In order for X to be the public square for the world, it really better be a free speech platform — that doesn’t mean people can say illegal things; it’s free speech within the bounds of the law.”

Disclosure: NBCUniversal is the mum or dad firm of CNBC.