Various major studios, including Disney, Warner Bros., Sony, and Universal, have largely gone dark on X/Twitter after Elon Musk backed an antisemitic conspiracy theory on November 16.
All of the studios who haven’t posted on X/Twitter are also among the companies who’ve suspended advertising on the social media platform, a group that also includes Apple and IBM. Various companies pulled out after Musk’s disturbing post, in which he endorsed an antisemitic conspiracy as “the actual truth,” as well as a report from Media Matters that said ads were being placed next to antisemitic content. Musk has since filed a lawsuit against Media Matters in response to the report.
But the pushback may not be limited to just ads, as the studios are also seemingly boycotting from posting (as first spotted by Culture Crave on X/Twitter). Many of the accounts were posting daily – some, like Warner Bros., would occasionally go a couple days without a post, while others, like Disney, would regularly post a few times a day. Regardless, it’s abnormal for any of them to go 12 days without a post.
See below a full list of the companies who’ve largely stopped posting natively on X/Twitter; IGN has reached out to all of them for comment.
Disney
Perhaps one of the companies to make the most headlines upon pulling their ads from X/Twitter, Disney’s accounts have also largely been quiet since November 16. That was the last day the main Disney account posted natively to X/Twitter; while it’s reposted fans praising its recently released Wish, it hasn’t posted on its own. Similarly, the official Star Wars account hasn’t posted since November 17 aside from sharing a post from Ahsoka star Diana Lee Inosanto, and Marvel Studios also hasn’t posted since that day except for a repost from the WandaVision account. Walt Disney Studios and Pixar have not posted at all since November 17.
Warner Bros.
Warner Bros. Pictures takes it a step further, having not even shared a repost since November 17 when Dune: Part Two was moved up two weeks. It’s been completely quiet since then.
HBO
On a related note, HBO, which is also owned by Warner Bros. Discovery, hasn’t posted natively since November 15. It has, however, shared posts from sister accounts like HBO Documentaries and Max. Max itself last posted natively on November 23.
Sony Pictures
Like Warner Bros., Sony Pictures has been completely quiet on X/Twitter since November 17.
Paramount Pictures
Paramount Pictures posted a little more recently than the other studios listed here, with a Thanksgiving message on November 20, but has been quiet since then.
Universal Pictures
Universal Pictures‘ X/Twitter account, like Warner Bros. and Sony, has been dark since November 17.
Lionsgate
Lionsgate, which has a major release out currently with The Hunger Games prequel A Ballad on Songbirds and Snakes, also hasn’t posted at all since November 16.
It’s worth, noting, too, that some of these companies, including Disney and HBO, have posted to X/Twitter competitor Threads in the meantime. And the account for The Late Show With Stephen Colbert, meanwhile, shared the news that the show would be on hiatus for a week due to Colbert’s ruptured appendix via Threads, not X/Twitter, where the account had been posting actively up until November 17.
Losing revenue from ads is certainly one significant thing, but X/Twitter has long been a way for the public to gather news and for companies to make major announcements. If companies continue to stay dark on X/Twitter and instead move to its competitors, however, that could very well be changing.
Thumbnail credit: Belinda Jiao/Getty Images
Alex Stedman is a Senior News Editor with IGN, overseeing entertainment reporting. When she’s not writing or editing, you can find her reading fantasy novels or playing Dungeons & Dragons.
Robert Johnson is a UK-based business writer specializing in finance and entrepreneurship. With an eye for market trends and a keen interest in the corporate world, he offers readers valuable insights into business developments.
