Major Advertisers Sever Ties One After Another with Twitter Following Musk Acquisition

Pfizer, Audi, General Mills, Mondelez International Suspend Advertising Temporarily
Concerns Rise Over Fake News and Hate Posts After Musk Acquires Twitter
Major Twitter Executives Resign, Raising Fears of Operational Disruptions

Elon Musk, CEO of Tesla. Photo by Reuters

[Asia Economy Reporter Yoon Seul-gi] Major advertisers are leaving Twitter. Since Tesla CEO Elon Musk, who emphasized 'freedom of expression,' acquired Twitter, there have been signs of an increase in hateful posts on the platform. As key executives trusted by advertisers have resigned, advertisers seem to be increasingly skeptical of Twitter.

On the 3rd (local time), the Wall Street Journal (WSJ), citing sources, reported that pharmaceutical company Pfizer, automobile company Volkswagen Group's Audi, food companies General Mills and Mondelez International have temporarily suspended advertising on Twitter.

The departure of advertisers appears to be continuing, starting with automobile company General Motors (GM). Earlier, GM temporarily suspended advertising citing changes in Twitter's management.

These advertisers reportedly decided to halt advertising due to concerns over the increase in hateful content and growing uncertainty caused by the resignation of key executives. Kelci Romhilt, a spokesperson for General Mills, said, "As always, we will monitor this new direction and evaluate our marketing spend."

WSJ forecasted that more advertisers will continue to leave Twitter. Currently, advertisers are already spending significant advertising budgets on Google and Meta Platforms, and with the rising preference for video- and photo-centric social networking services (SNS) like TikTok, Twitter's advertising competitiveness has declined.

Additionally, the increased uncertainty of the platform following Musk's acquisition of Twitter has also had an impact. During the acquisition process, Musk emphasized 'freedom of expression,' raising concerns that relaxing content regulation policies could lead to a flood of fake news and hateful posts. In fact, the online monitoring group Network Contagion Research warned that the use of words disparaging Black people on Twitter surged nearly 500% immediately after the acquisition.

Recently, Musk himself spread conspiracy theories. On the 28th of last month, Musk posted a conspiracy-laden message insulting the husband of House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, who was assaulted by an intruder, but deleted it after criticism arose.

As key executives responsible for advertising and marketing at Twitter have resigned one after another, variables have emerged in relationships with advertisers. According to foreign media, on the 1st, Sarah Personette, Chief Customer Officer trusted by advertisers; Leslie Berland, Chief Marketing Officer; and Jean-Philippe Maheu, Vice President of Global Sales, resigned.

Since advertising accounts for about 90% of Twitter's revenue, this advertiser departure is expected to cause significant damage. Musk is focusing on restoring trust with advertisers to prevent further departures. On the 27th of last month, he sent a letter to advertisers persuading them that Twitter will become the world's best advertising platform and is meeting frequently with major advertisers.

He is also working on building independent revenue sources beyond advertising. On the 1st, Musk announced via his Twitter account that the monthly fee for 'Twitter Blue' will be raised from the existing $4.99 to $8. Twitter Blue is a paid subscription service that Twitter began offering about a year ago, first introduced in the United States, Canada, Australia, and New Zealand. Subscribers to this service receive new Twitter features such as tweet undo, bookmark folder editing, customized search, and posting long videos before they are released to all users.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.