The recent decision by Disney to pull its advertising from X drew fire from Elon Musk. During a conference appearance, the billionaire used the far more explicit form of telling someone to go jump in a lake to respond to the move. Musk also called out Disney CEO Bob Iger by name, accusing him of trying to "blackmail" X with money to eliminate free speech on the social media platform. 

What was the reason behind Disney's move? According to reports, the company was reacting to a manufactured Media Matters "study" in which they were able to produce some ads next to antisemitic content. As RedState noted, the far-left activist group did so by creating an account, heavily curating its timeline, and then hitting refresh over and over until they got a statistically minuscule result. That was then provided as part of a call to boycott X, one which Disney dutifully followed. 

Was Disney's move sincere, though, or was it just an excuse for the beleaguered entertainment company to once again make a leftwing political statement? According to evidence provided by The Wall Street Journal, the answer appears to be the latter. 

The article itself is paywalled, but the money quote is below. 

'Companies whose ads appeared beside inappropriate content in the Journal’s tests include Disney, Walmart, online dating company Match Group, Hims, which sells erectile-dysfunction drugs, and The Wall Street Journal itself.' https://t.co/WxnpJWVYxH

— Phil Stripling (@civex) November 27, 2023

What is the inappropriate content? According to the Journal's reporting, it includes sexually explicit content involving children. In other words, Disney pulled its ads from X over a flawed conclusion put out by the discredited organization Media Matters but continues to advertise on Instagram despite its ads showing up next to child pornography. 

Does that make Disney's motivations for pulling ads from X clear enough? If this were really about concern for the brand, why would Disney continue to advertise on Instagram? Why hasn't it immediately paused its advertising on the platform? 

Then there's the specific idea of antisemitic content. According to a recent study, Chinese-controlled TikTok is, by far, the biggest purveyor of antisemitic content. It has become a home for pro-Hamas "influencers" who spew genocidal viewpoints daily. Guess where Disney still advertises? That would be TikTok. 

Disney's disparate decision-making when it comes to advertising completely exposes the company as a political actor simply trying to punish free speech on a single platform. If any of this were really about inappropriate content, the entertainment company would have paused advertising across the board. It didn't because it sees no risk in spiting those who support Musk's quest for some semblance of a free public square. Perhaps conservatives should show them there is a financial risk.