Elon Musk said that Apple Inc. has cut back its advertising on Twitter Inc., suggesting that the iPhone maker has joined other major brands in rethinking its relationship with the social network.
(Bloomberg) — Elon Musk said that Apple Inc. has cut back its advertising on Twitter Inc., suggesting that the iPhone maker has joined other major brands in rethinking its relationship with the social network.
“Apple has mostly stopped advertising on Twitter,” Musk tweeted on Monday. “Do they hate free speech in America?”
A number of large companies have paused their ads on Twitter since the billionaire acquired the company for $44 billion last month. The exodus included General Mills Inc. and Pfizer Inc., and Musk acknowledged that the defections led to a “massive drop” in revenue. Since the takeover, he has cut thousands of jobs at Twitter, raising concerns that the platform won’t be able to combat hate speech and misinformation. A new approach to verifying accounts also opened the door to trolls impersonating major brands, as well as Musk himself.
Twitter’s relationship with Apple is particularly significant because the tech giant’s app store is one of the main ways that people get on the social network. Phil Schiller, the longtime Apple executive who oversees the app store, deleted his Twitter account after Musk reinstated the account of former President Donald Trump, who had been booted from the platform in the wake of the Jan. 6, 2021, attack on the US Capitol.
Apple, based in Cupertino, California, didn’t immediately respond to a request for comment.
Musk has previously tweeted that if Twitter is removed from Apple and Google’s app stores, he will make an alternative phone that can work with the platform.
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