Audi and General Mills latest to pause Twitter advertising after Musk purchase
Tesla billionaire has promised advertisers site will not become ‘free-for-all hells cape’
Your support helps us to tell the story
From reproductive rights to climate change to Big Tech, The Independent is on the ground when the story is developing. Whether it's investigating the financials of Elon Musk's pro-Trump PAC or producing our latest documentary, 'The A Word', which shines a light on the American women fighting for reproductive rights, we know how important it is to parse out the facts from the messaging.
At such a critical moment in US history, we need reporters on the ground. Your donation allows us to keep sending journalists to speak to both sides of the story.
The Independent is trusted by Americans across the entire political spectrum. And unlike many other quality news outlets, we choose not to lock Americans out of our reporting and analysis with paywalls. We believe quality journalism should be available to everyone, paid for by those who can afford it.
Your support makes all the difference.Audi and General Mills have become the latest companies to pause advertising on Twitter in the wake of Elon Musk’s $44bn takeover.
Advertisers are waiting to see how strong the platform’s content moderation will remain as the Tesla billionaire has vowed not to let it become a “free-for-all hellscape.”
Minnesota-based General Mills produces products such as Cheerios and Annie’s macaroni and cheese, and their position was confirmed to The Associated Press on Thursday.
“As always, we will continue to monitor this new direction and evaluate our marketing spend,” spokesperson Kelsey Roemhildt told AP.
Audi spokesperson Whaewon Choi-Wiles said the German automaker, which is owned by Volkswagen, is pausing ads and “will continue to evaluate the situation.”
Following Mr Musk’s takeover of Twitter, some users have posted racial slurs and wild conspiracy theories to see how tightly enforced Twitter’s policies would be under new ownership.
The NAACP says it has told Mr Musk of its concerns about “the dangerous, life-threatening hate and conspiracies that have proliferated on Twitter” since he has owned it.
Mr Musk is reportedly considering firing half of Twitter’s 7,5000 staff, which critics say will make content moderation even more difficult.
General Motors, last week announced that it has also paused advertising on Twitter as it tries to “understand the direction of the platform.”
Earlier this week IPG Mediabrands told its clients that they should stop advertising on Twitter until more is known about brand safety pin the site.
Twitter reportedly makes 90 per cent of its revenue from advertisers, and Mr Musk is trying to introduce an $8 per month charge for blue tick verification.
Google, Amazon and Meta account for about 75 per cent of all digital ads, while Twitter will account for just 0.9 per cent of worldwide digital ad spending in 2022, according to AP.
The Associated Press contributed to this story
Join our commenting forum
Join thought-provoking conversations, follow other Independent readers and see their replies
Comments