{"id":26806,"date":"2023-11-20T18:59:42","date_gmt":"2023-11-20T18:59:42","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/belalcazar.org\/?p=26806"},"modified":"2023-11-20T18:59:42","modified_gmt":"2023-11-20T18:59:42","slug":"elon-musk-branded-eus-worst-nightmare-afters-blocs-x-advertising-ban","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/belalcazar.org\/world-news\/elon-musk-branded-eus-worst-nightmare-afters-blocs-x-advertising-ban\/","title":{"rendered":"Elon Musk branded EUs worst nightmare afters blocs X advertising ban"},"content":{"rendered":"

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Billionaire Elon Musk is the European Union\u2019s \u201cworst nightmare\u201d, a Brussels insider has said after the bloc allegedly moved to ban staff from advertising on X – formerly known as Twitter.<\/p>\n

Pieter Cleppe also said the logic behind the apparent decision was \u201cquestionable\u201d in the light of changes which the social media platform has introduced.<\/p>\n

The wealthy entrepreneur is at the centre of a massive controversy after companies including IBM, NBCUniversal and its parent company Comcast pulled ads over concerns they were showing up next to pro-Nazi content and hate speech on X, acquired by Mr Musk last year.<\/p>\n

And the bloc appears to have followed suit, with Politico claiming the European Commission\u2019s Deputy Chief Spokesperson Dana Spinan had written to senior officials voicing concerns about \u201cdisinformation\u201d, particularly in relation to the Israel-Hamas war.<\/p>\n

The note urged all heads of service and directors general to \u201ctemporarily suspend advertising on this platform until further notice to avoid risks of reputational damage to the Commission\u201d.<\/p>\n

READ MORE: <\/strong> Labour split as Scottish leader backs ceasefire with Starmer under pressure<\/strong><\/p>\n

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Mr Cleppe, Editor-in-chief of BrusselsReport.eu, told Express.co.uk: \u201cElon Musk is basically the EU\u2019s worst nightmare.\u201d<\/p>\n

The 52-year-old South African, who also owns SpaceX, was somebody who was \u201ccompletely outside their jurisdiction with very deep pockets and attitudes which do not align with theirs in the least\u201d, Mr Cleppe explained.<\/p>\n

He continued: \u201cIt\u2019s problematic in the first place for the EU to run \u2018ads\u2019 on social media with taxpayers money, given how the EU tends to conflate \u2018providing information\u2019 with promoting biased opinions.<\/p>\n

\u201cAlso their charge of Twitter\/X suffering more from disinformation than other social media platforms is questionable.<\/p>\n

Elon Musk warns of ‘magic genie’ in AI discussion with Sunak<\/h3>\n

\u201cOn the contrary, with its new “community notes” system, Twitter\/X seems to have found a fantastic method to combat disinformation, as both rightwing and leftwing propaganda has been corrected thanks to this system.<\/p>\n

The liberal advocacy group Media Matters said in a report on Thursday that ads from Apple and Oracle also were placed next to anti-Semitic material.<\/p>\n

On Friday it said it also found ads from Amazon, NBA Mexico, NBCUniversal and others next to white nationalist hashtags.<\/p>\n

In a statement, the company said: \u201cIBM has zero tolerance for hate speech and discrimination and we have immediately suspended all advertising on X while we investigate this entirely unacceptable situation.\u201d<\/p>\n