NFL committed to X partnership as Elon Musk’s social platform gets heat for hate speech

The National Football League is sticking with X, formerly known as Twitter, as Elon Musk’s site faces an advertiser revolt over hate speech and antisemitism on the platform.

“I think X is in a very difficult business because of the content moderation that they have to deal with,” Brian Rolapp, the NFL’s media and business chief, told CNBC’s Julia Boorstin. “We continue to work with them because our fans are clearly there.”

The league did not provide further comment on the matter.

The NFL has partnered with the platform since 2013 as part of an effort to bring fans exclusive content.

Since Musk took over last fall, the platform has been caught up in several controversies, including those surrounding X’s policy for moderating harmful content.

In the latest wave of pushback, companies such as Apple and Disney have suspended advertising on the platform.

Last week, Musk agreed with a post on the platform accusing “Jewish communities” of pushing “hatred against whites,” CNBC reported earlier this month. Musk has denied that he’s antisemitic.

Earlier this month, left-leaning media watchdog site MediaMatters.org posted instances of Apple, Bravo and Oracle ads appearing next to antisemitic content on Musk’s platform. X on Monday sued Media Matters over the report, coinciding with an investigation launched by Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton into the watchdog site for possible fraudulent activity.

Meanwhile, more than two dozen House Democrats on Tuesday alleged that X was profiting off of violent Hamas-related content and called on CEO Linda Yaccarino to explain how the company’s plans to curtail the harmful content on the platform. Hamas, a Palestinian militant group, launched a terrorist attack on Israel on Oct. 7, killing more than 1,000 people and seizing more than 200 hostages.

Disclosure: NBCUniversal is the parent company of Bravo and CNBC.

–CNBC’s Julia Boorstin contributed to this article.