NFL Ad Ran on Zombie Twitter Account Calling for Taylor Swift, Travis Kelce's Deaths

[Celerity]

The social platform continues to place brand spots alongside the dangerous extremists it refuses to rein in

https://www.rollingstone.com/culture/culture-news/nfl-advertising-twitter-x-white-nationalist-1234834242/



X, THE COMPANY formerly known as Twitter, has been at pains to lure back advertisers who deserted the platform in droves after Elon Musk‘s takeover, slashing the site’s revenue in the process. Last month, the company even rolled out expanded features for brands, including tools to help keep their ads away from undesirable content like hate speech.

But those measures have proven wildly ineffective so far, at least where one major ad partner — the NFL — is concerned. Reports from Media Matters reveal that X has been serving the league’s promoted content on a number of verified and openly white nationalist accounts with a million followers between them. These include profiles for white supremacist Richard Spencer and VDare, an anti-immigrant organization (and Southern Poverty Law Center-designated hate group) that has specifically attacked the NFL and encouraged a boycott of the league over players supporting Black Lives Matter, denouncing the movement as “anti-white blood libel.”



NFL ads were also served on the account of Andrew Torba, CEO of the Nazi-infested rival website Gab, himself a notorious antisemite. When he retweeted a racist meme depicting a boat full of non-white migrants that warned “You’re being conquered,” an NFL clip from Sept. 14 game between the Minnesota Vikings and the Philadelphia Eagles appeared right below it. X did not reply to a request for comment on the ad placements.



Media Matters noted that NFL spots — which are supposed to generate revenue for verified users whose timelines they appear on — likewise turned up in Rumble streaming host Stew Peters’ feed. Peters is a far-right conspiracy theorist who has regularly demonized Jews and LGBTQ people but is perhaps best known for his extreme anti-vax positions and spreading other falsehoods about Covid-19. He pushed the conspiracy theory that Buffalo Bills safety Damar Hamlin, who collapsed on the field in January due to cardiac arrest but went on to make a complete recovery, actually died because he was vaccinated and has been replaced by an actor.

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