Apple has resumed advertising on Elon Musk’s X social network as of this week. Apple had halted all advertising on X back in November 2023 after Musk agreed with an antisemitic post on the platform.
As spotted by 9to5Mac reader Colin on Wednesday afternoon, Apple is currently running an ad campaign on X touting Safari’s focus on privacy. “Safari helps keep your personal data safe,” the ad reads. Apple is running a similar campaign on other social media platforms, such as Instagram. The Apple TV account is also running X ads promoting Severance.
Apple hasn’t addressed its decision-making process for resuming advertising on X. Apple CEO Tim Cook, however, has a close relationship with President Trump and attended the inauguration last month alongside Elon Musk. I don’t think it’s a huge stretch to conclude that Musk broached the topic of X advertising directly with Cook.
Apple’s initial decision to halt advertising on X in November 2023 came after Elon Musk himself backed an antisemitic tweet that accused “Jewish communities” of pushing “dialectical hatred against whites.” “You have said the actual truth,” Musk tweeted then. After that post, other companies, including Disney, IBM, and Comcast, also halted advertising on X.
In an interview shortly after those companies halted X advertising, Musk said:
I hope they stop. Don’t advertise. If someone’s going to try and blackmail me with advertising, blackmail me with money…go fu*k yourself.
Go fu*k yourself. Is that clear?
Disney, Comcast, and IBM all resumed advertising on X in November 2024. Now, Apple is joining in.
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