Adam Schiff has reportedly spent $93,000 on X ads while bashing Elon Musk

Rep. Adam Schiff is an outspoken critic of Elon Musk and his stewardship of X, the social media site formerly known as Twitter. But that hasn’t stopped him from paying X thousands of dollars for advertising.

Schiff is running to represent California in the Senate and his campaign and its political action group supporters have dropped $93,432 to promote his X account in 2023, according to data provided by X to Business Insider and The Washington Post. The social media platform banned political ads in 2019, but reversed course under Musk in August. The company released the data in early December, as Musk faced an advertising exodus from major corporate spenders over his professed support for a post with an antisemitic claim.

Apple, IBM and Disney are among the companies that reportedly chopped their spending on X in recent weeks. But the Senate campaigns of Schiff and Rep. Katie Porter, per the reports, have helped Musk’s company weather its deepening financial struggles

Schiff’s spending and that of Porter, whose campaign dropped more than $70,000 on X per Business Insider, shows the tension between their criticism of X and their desire to reach digital audiences. 

The Senate candidates aren’t alone. Business Insider’s report said that Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis’ presidential campaign has spent more than $400,000 on X ads, and several other lawmakers, including California Gov. Gavin Newsom, poured in tens of thousands of dollars as well. 

But Schiff, unlike the two governors, has been selling himself as an Elon Musk foil. He complained about “the rise of extremist actors and hate speech” after Musk took over Twitter last December, and accused Musk of being hypocritical about free speech a week later. 

According to The Hill, Musk blasted Schiff in response on X: “Thankfully, you lose your chairmanship very soon. Your brain is too small.” He later deleted the post.

In January, Schiff posted a fundraising link alongside a message that said, “People who have power are obsessed with keeping it. Like Kevin McCarthy and Elon Musk. I’m committed to holding them accountable.”

In October, Schiff published a letter alongside other lawmakers that took issue with Musk laying off election integrity staff at X. The letter said he and his colleagues would continue writing to Musk, seeking insights on how X is run. “Our concern for our constituents has been met with continuous hostility from you and your team,” the letter added. 

Schiff and Porter also signed a Nov. 21 letter to Musk and X CEO Linda Yaccarino. The letter accused X of spreading false narratives about the war in Gaza and claimed the company “willfully permitted, and benefited from, the illegal spread of terrorist propaganda.” 

The letter also demanded that the company provide all of its written discussions about content moderation around Hamas, the terrorist group that attacked Israel on Oct. 7, and claimed “the platform has become a hotbed of misinformation and terrorist propaganda.” Musk has consistently denied reports that hate speech on X increased after his takeover.

A spokesperson for Schiff’s campaign did not respond to SFGATE’s request for comment.

Hear of anything happening at X or another tech company? Contact tech reporter Stephen Council securely at [email protected] or on Signal at 628-204-5452.