In the latest blow to Elon Musk's social media company, X, retail giant Walmart has announced that it is pulling its advertising spending from the platform. Walmart joins a growing list of major advertisers who have decided to distance themselves from X due to concerns over hate speech and the ability to reach their target audience effectively.

The decision by Walmart came just two days after Musk's controversial outburst during an interview with journalist Andrew Ross Sorkin. Musk, using profanity, labeled the advertisers pulling out as engaging in “blackmail” and essentially told them to go away. In response, Walmart stated that they are not advertising on X as they have found other platforms that better reach their customers.

According to Joe Benarroch, head of operations at X, Walmart has not advertised on the platform since October. However, he emphasized that the company has been actively engaging with its community of over one million people on X organically. Despite this, Walmart's departure is a significant blow to X as it further diminishes the platform's relationship with advertisers.

Walmart's decision to withdraw its advertising spending from X follows the lead of other major companies such as the Walt Disney Co., IBM, NBCUniversal, and its parent company Comcast. These companies had also decided to halt their spending on X earlier this month after a report by the liberal advocacy group Media Matters revealed that their advertisements were appearing alongside content that praised Nazis. X responded to the report by suing Media Matters, accusing the group of manufacturing the report to drive advertisers away and destroy the company.

The situation highlights the challenges faced by X's CEO, Linda Yaccarino, who was brought in by Musk to rebuild ties with advertisers. Many advertisers had left the platform due to concerns that Musk's decision to ease content restrictions was allowing hateful and toxic speech to thrive, which could harm their brands. However, despite Yaccarino's efforts, X's relations with advertisers do not seem to be improving.

In a statement, Benarroch emphasized the value of Walmart's community on X, stating that the platform sees over half a billion people every year, with 15 billion impressions related to the holidays alone. He also highlighted that over 50% of X users do most, if not all, of their shopping online. The loss of Walmart's advertising spending will undoubtedly have a significant impact on X's ability to attract and retain advertisers moving forward.

As the list of major companies pulling their advertising from X continues to grow, the future of the social media platform looks increasingly uncertain. With concerns over hate speech and the ability to reach target audiences, X will need to address these issues if it hopes to regain the trust and support of advertisers in the future.