Elon Musk said that advertiser fears over content moderation on Twitter Inc. caused a “massive drop in revenue” at the platform even though no changes have been made.
(Bloomberg) — Elon Musk said that advertiser fears over content moderation on Twitter Inc. caused a “massive drop in revenue” at the platform even though no changes have been made.
The comments come after brands including Audi, Pfizer Inc. and General Mills Inc. said they planned to temporarily pause spending on the platform while they wait to see how it evolves under Musk’s leadership.
Musk, who has branded himself a free-speech advocate, has said he wants to change how the website treats controversial content, while reassuring advertisers that he doesn’t want it to turn into a “free-for-all hellscape, where anything can be said with no consequences.”
Still, since he took the helm, hate speech has surged on Twitter. After news broke that Musk closed the deal, the use of one particular racist slur surged 1,300% on the platform, according to data from Dataminr, a social media analysis platform.
“Elon Musk is an erratic billionaire who has promised to roll back critical safeguards Twitter has put in place,” said Nicole Gill, co-founder and executive director of digital rights group Accountable Tech, which helped organize an initiative to lobby CEOs to pull back spending from Twitter if it lowers safety standards.
The group, which has also criticized Facebook’s protections around election disinformation, said it believes “social media giants are eroding our consensus reality and pushing democracy to the brink.”
Musk has floated plans to charge users for verification and has said he’s not a fan of permanent bans for members who broke Twitter’s rules. He plans to hold off on major decisions about reinstating accounts until the company has formed a content-moderation council that includes “widely diverse viewpoints,” he said.
The billionaire’s takeover has already led to a string of controversies.
Employees are checking their email to find out whether they’ve lost their jobs as part of a widespread culling of about 3,700 positions across the company. The Tesla Inc. CEO is seeking ways to cut costs following the $44 billion deal.
Musk initially tried to back out of the deal, claiming that “bots,” spam and fake accounts were a significant number of the site’s users, disputing the company’s assurances that they accounted for fewer than 5%. Twitter sued Musk, who ultimately agreed to go ahead with the deal last month.
After closing the deal last week, hours before the court-appointed deadline, Musk cleared out the company’s executive ranks. CEO Parag Agrawal, Vijaya Gadde, the head of legal, policy and trust; Chief Financial Officer Ned Segal; and Sean Edgett, who has been general counsel at Twitter since 2012, all left.
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