Big advertisers paralyze their investments in the social network
The billionaire tycoon Elon Musk has warned this Friday that the social network Twitter, which he recently acquired for 44,000 million dollars (a similar figure in euros at the current exchange rate), is suffering a "massive drop" in its advertising revenue.
"Twitter has seen a massive drop in revenue due to activist groups putting pressure on advertisers, despite the fact that nothing has changed with content moderation and despite the fact that we have done everything we can to appease the activists," he said. Musk expressed in a message on the social network. The businessman has stressed that this is an attack on freedom of expression in the United States.
Musk's message coincides with a round of layoffs taking place this Friday. Until the process is finished, the company's offices are closed and it will not be until this morning that employees receive an email informing them if they keep or lose their jobs.
Last week, Musk himself published another message on the social network addressed to advertisers in which he assured that Twitter was not going to become a place where anything could be said without consequence. In parallel, he also announced a revamp of the Twitter Blue subscription service for $8 a month, including account verification in the package.
BIG ADVERTISERS
Among the advertisers who have decided to pause advertising are a group of large companies. In this sense, the German automotive group Volkswagen has chosen to pause advertising on the social network for all its brands (including Volkswagen, Audi, Seat, Skoda, Cupra, Bentley, Ducati and Lamborghini).
"We are monitoring the situation closely and will decide on the next steps depending on how it evolves," the German holding company said in a statement to Reuters.
Last week, before the platform layoffs began, General Motors also decided to pause its campaigns until it "understands the direction of the platform under its new owner," CNBC reported.
In this sense, the company assured in a statement that it is "normal" for something like this to be done when a "significant change" takes place on a media platform. Major General Motors brands include Cadillac, Chevrolet, and GMC.
In fact, as reported this week by the newspaper 'The New York Times', IPG, the fourth largest advertising company in the world by billing, recommended that its clients put Twitter campaigns on hold temporarily.
In this sense, consumer giants such as General Mills (Cheerios, Gigante Verde, Golden Grahams, Old El Paso or Häagen-Dazs) and Mondelez (Oreo, Milka, Chips Ahoy!, Philadelphia, Royal or Trident) or the pharmaceutical company Pfizer have also decided to pause advertising on the social network.
