Elon Musk has pulled out advertising following antisemitic comments he made in X, a troubled social media site that was formerly known as Twitter and which the billionaire acquired last year.

Musk toured an Israeli kibbutz that was attacked by Hamas in October, with Benjamin Netanyahu as his tour guide.

The Israeli government released photos of Musk’s trip, saying that he had been shown the residence of a Sha’ar HaNegev regional council chair who was killed in an exchange of fire the morning before the attack.

Musk was also taken to a second residence by Netanyahu, where he was told of the story about a four-year-old Israeli child whose parents had been killed before Hamas abducted her.

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The trip was not without controversy. At times, it resembled a visit by a head of state. The critics of Netanyahu praised Musk and the Israeli leader for their efforts to improve the Israeli image.

Esther Solomon wrote that Elon Musk, a blatant antisemite and publisher of antisemitism in Israel, should be persona grata. “Instead, Netanyahu – plunging new depths of amoral sycophancy – gifts him a visit to the kibbutzim destroyed by Hamas. Both of them are vile, venal and bilious.

Musk had sparked outrage days earlier when he posted on social media that he agreed with an individual who seemed to be promoting the “great substitution theory”, which suggests that Jewish people, American elites and other groups are trying to replace the white American population with nonwhite immigrants.

The post said: “Jewish Communities have been pushing exactly the same kind of dialectical hate against whites they claim they want people to stop using.”

Musk responded to the user, “You’ve said the truth.”

Musk had already been under fire at the time the post was made after Media Matters for America, a progressive watchdog, released a report describing how X places advertising next to hateful material. Musk responded by suing Media Matters for America, alleging that it was lying maliciously about how the platform operated.

Apple and IBM have pulled their advertising due to the billionaire’s interaction and the Media Matters Report.

Imran Ahmad told The Hill that Musk’s visit to Israel was “all contrived for cameras and to salvage relationships with advertisers.”

Ahmad continued, “It seems like a corporate whitewashing that he was integral to spreading antisemitic conspiracies himself and turned Twitter into a place where antisemitism could run rampant.”

Musk’s visit came at the same time as the Israeli government announced Monday that the country had reached an agreement to use Starlink in Israel. Starlink is a satellite network operated by Musk’s SpaceX that provides high-speed internet around the globe.

Others say that Musk wants to change the narrative surrounding his companies by focusing on multiple factors.

Nora Benavidez is the director of digital justice and civil right at Free Press Action Fund. She said that “the trip seemed less like a rehabilitation effort, and more like a business deal.”

“Musk’s history is one of shutting down extremist and dangerous voices and censoring their speech.” There are much bigger concerns than just content moderation. With the potential control of internet in a conflict zone, there is far more at stake.

Musk has reshaped X’s community guidelines, and loosened the rules for content. This has led to a proliferation on the platform of far-right content and unverified material.

Musk regularly engages in conversation with conservative pundits, influencers, and other influential people on his platform. He sparked controversy last October when he promoted a theory that was unfounded about the attack against Paul Pelosi (the husband of Rep. Nancy Pelosi) who is a Democrat from California.

Musk has addressed the anger his posts on Israel sparked in recent weeks. He claimed that “legacy media” companies are trying to destroy X by “any means necessary”.

Musk stated that “this past week there were hundreds bogus stories in the media claiming I was antisemitic.” “Nothing is further from the truth.” “I wish the best for mankind and a prosperous, exciting future for everyone.”

Tech and media watchdogs, however, say Musk’s record indicates otherwise. As a result, Musk is now facing a reputation crisis.

“After he engaged that content, it was obvious that he had to take significant actions to publicly distance himself,” said Emerson T. Brooking. Emerson T. Brooking is a resident senior Fellow at the Digital Forensic Research Lab, part of the Atlantic Council.