Advertisers are fleeing Twitter in droves now that Tesla and SpaceX CEO Elon Musk has taken over control.
Ever since officially closing the $44 billion deal, Musk has been busy gutting the company's executive suite and dissolving its board. Senior executives, as well as Twitter's advertising chief Sarah Personette, have departed as well.
After all, Musk has been very clear about his disdain for advertising for years now.
The resulting uncertainty has advertisers spooked — major advertising holding company IPG has already advised clients to pull out temporarily — and the billionaire CEO is in serious damage mode.
Now, Reuters reports, Musk is spending most of this week meeting with advertisers in New York, trying to reassure them that Twitter won't turn into a "free-for-all hellscape."
According to one of Reuters' sources, the meetings have been "very productive" — but plenty of other marketers are far from satisfied.
Advertisers are reportedly grilling Musk over his plans to address the rampant misinformation being spread on the platform, a trend that Musk himself has been actively contributing to since the acquisition.
And if he's succeeding in ameliorating advertisers in private, he's antagonizing them publicly. On Wednesday, Musk posted a poll asking users whether advertisers should support either "freedom of speech," or "political 'correctness'" — a type of false dichotomy that echoes the rhetoric of far-right conspiracy theorists and conservative pundits.
"Those type of provocations are not helping to calm the waters," an unnamed media buyer told Reuters.
Some are going public with the same sentiment.
"Unless Elon hires new leaders committed to keeping this 'free' platform safe from hate speech, it's not a platform brands can/should advertise on," Allie Wassum, global media director for the Nike-owned shoe brand Jordan, wrote in a LinkedIn post.
So far, Musk's plans for the social media platform remain strikingly muddy. In addition to the behind-the-scenes advertising plays, he's also announced that users will have to pay to retain their verification badge, though he's engaged in a comically public negotiation as to what the cost might be.
He's also hinted that previously banned users — former US president Donald Trump chief among them — might eventually get a chance to return, but only once "we have a clear process for doing so, which will take at least a few more weeks."
The move was seen by many as a way to wait out the impending midterm elections. After all, Twitter has played a huge role in disseminating misinformation and swaying elections in the past.
While advertisers are running for the hills, to Musk advertising is clearly only a small part of the picture — even though historically, social giants like Twitter have struggled to diversify their revenue sources much beyond display ads.
Musk nodded to that reality in a vague open letter posted last week.
"Low relevancy ads are spam, but highly relevant ads are actually content!" he wrote in the note, addressed to "Twitter advertisers."
Big picture, Twitter's operations are in free fall right now and Musk has yet to provide advertisers with a cohesive plan to pick up the pieces.
While he's hinted at the creation of a new content moderation council made up of both "people from all viewpoints" and "wildly divergent views," advertisers are clearly going to be thinking twice about continuing their business with Twitter.
With or without advertising, Twitter's finances are reportedly in a very deep hole. The billions of dollars Musk had to borrow to finance his mega acquisition will cost Twitter around $1 billion a year in interest alone.
The company also wasn't anywhere near profitable before Musk took over, losing hundreds of millions of dollars in a single quarter.
Whether that picture will change any time soon is as unclear as ever, especially in the face of a wintry economy.
But, of course, Musk has proved his critics wrong before. So anything's possible.
READ MORE: Advertisers begin to grill Elon Musk over Twitter 'free-for-all' [Reuters]
More on the saga: Elon Musk Pulling Engineers From Tesla Autopilot to Work on Twitter
The post Elon Musk Meeting With Advertisers, Begging Them Not to Leave Twitter appeared first on Futurism.
Read more from the original source:
Elon Musk Meeting With Advertisers, Begging Them Not to Leave Twitter
- A Clockwork Greenshirt Introducing the Alt Left ... [Last Updated On: February 6th, 2018] [Originally Added On: February 6th, 2018]
- Jordan Towers 70news [Last Updated On: March 7th, 2018] [Originally Added On: March 7th, 2018]
- Robert Stark Talks to Ashley Messinger About ... - altleft.com [Last Updated On: March 18th, 2018] [Originally Added On: March 18th, 2018]
- KNOPPIX 8.1.0 - Linux Live System [Last Updated On: March 19th, 2018] [Originally Added On: March 19th, 2018]
- Protesters Try to Shut Down Jordan Peterson at Queen's ... [Last Updated On: April 27th, 2018] [Originally Added On: April 27th, 2018]
- KNOPPIX 8.0.0 - Linux Live System [Last Updated On: May 25th, 2018] [Originally Added On: May 25th, 2018]
- John McCain: Dying Without Dignity - committedconservative.com [Last Updated On: June 10th, 2018] [Originally Added On: June 10th, 2018]
- What is the Alt Left? - American Greatness [Last Updated On: June 29th, 2018] [Originally Added On: June 29th, 2018]
- event object JavaScript - Dottoro [Last Updated On: July 28th, 2018] [Originally Added On: July 28th, 2018]
- Virginia Election Predictions: Will Weather Rain on ... [Last Updated On: August 24th, 2018] [Originally Added On: August 24th, 2018]
- Alt-Left Melts Down Over "Unmasking Antifa" Act | Zero Hedge [Last Updated On: December 19th, 2018] [Originally Added On: December 19th, 2018]
- KNOPPIX 7.4.2 / ADRIANE 1.7 - Live CD / DVD [Last Updated On: December 19th, 2018] [Originally Added On: December 19th, 2018]
- Jacobs Email - IT - Teamwork at Jacobs University [Last Updated On: January 4th, 2019] [Originally Added On: January 4th, 2019]
- KNOPPIX 7.7.1 - Linux Live System [Last Updated On: January 4th, 2019] [Originally Added On: January 4th, 2019]
- KNOPPIX 8.1.0 - Linux Live System - knopper.net [Last Updated On: March 5th, 2019] [Originally Added On: March 5th, 2019]
- The Politically Incorrect Australian [Last Updated On: April 22nd, 2019] [Originally Added On: April 22nd, 2019]
- Lionel Nation - YouTube [Last Updated On: April 22nd, 2019] [Originally Added On: April 22nd, 2019]
- Andrew Yang Rejects Support From White Nationalists ... [Last Updated On: May 1st, 2019] [Originally Added On: May 1st, 2019]
- AltLeft.com "The Left of the AltRight" [Last Updated On: May 2nd, 2019] [Originally Added On: May 2nd, 2019]
- Automate the Boring Stuff with Python [Last Updated On: June 3rd, 2019] [Originally Added On: June 3rd, 2019]
- UI Events KeyboardEvent code Values - World Wide Web ... [Last Updated On: June 3rd, 2019] [Originally Added On: June 3rd, 2019]
- Dont like the facts? Just Schiff the narrative - Boston Herald [Last Updated On: October 1st, 2019] [Originally Added On: October 1st, 2019]
- Netflix vows crackdown on users who share logins with pals or family and could make you pay EXTRA - The Sun [Last Updated On: October 24th, 2019] [Originally Added On: October 24th, 2019]
- Everything Paradox Interactive Announced At PDXCON 2019 - Kotaku Australia [Last Updated On: October 24th, 2019] [Originally Added On: October 24th, 2019]
- The psychology and physiology of propaganda: A study of the radicalization of women - University of Virginia The Cavalier Daily [Last Updated On: January 30th, 2020] [Originally Added On: January 30th, 2020]
- One of the Vail Valley's fur-baby favorites, Dr. Julie Alt, is calling it a career - Vail Daily News [Last Updated On: January 30th, 2020] [Originally Added On: January 30th, 2020]
- Netflix FINALLY lets you turn those annoying autoplaying trailers off heres how - The Sun [Last Updated On: February 12th, 2020] [Originally Added On: February 12th, 2020]
- Netflix FORCED to remove nine movies after government objections including boozy Jesus party film - The Sun [Last Updated On: February 12th, 2020] [Originally Added On: February 12th, 2020]
- Netflix trialling 2.99 cheapest ever plan but it only works on smartphones or tablets - The Sun [Last Updated On: February 12th, 2020] [Originally Added On: February 12th, 2020]
- Netflix offers first-ever FREE movie that you dont need account to watch - The Sun [Last Updated On: February 12th, 2020] [Originally Added On: February 12th, 2020]
- The Death Throes of the Failed Sandernista Revolution - Real Context News [Last Updated On: March 16th, 2020] [Originally Added On: March 16th, 2020]
- Life under lockdown: Italy is being consumed by panic - Spectator.co.uk [Last Updated On: March 16th, 2020] [Originally Added On: March 16th, 2020]
- Netflix is testing cheap new mobile-only plan that costs just 2.40 a month - The Sun [Last Updated On: March 16th, 2020] [Originally Added On: March 16th, 2020]
- Howie Carr: Its time to wake up sleepy Joe Biden - Boston Herald [Last Updated On: March 16th, 2020] [Originally Added On: March 16th, 2020]
- Living in an Italy consumed by fear - The Spectator USA [Last Updated On: March 27th, 2020] [Originally Added On: March 27th, 2020]
- Hungarian Press Roundup: Weeklies on the State of Emergency - Hungary Today [Last Updated On: March 27th, 2020] [Originally Added On: March 27th, 2020]
- Essential Mac keyboard shortcuts and key combinations - Macworld UK [Last Updated On: May 3rd, 2020] [Originally Added On: May 3rd, 2020]
- AltLeft Shuts Down Toronto Comedy Show Over Words 'Free ... [Last Updated On: May 3rd, 2020] [Originally Added On: May 3rd, 2020]
- COVID-19 UPDATE: East Hampton Testing Site To Open May 15 - 27east.com [Last Updated On: May 9th, 2020] [Originally Added On: May 9th, 2020]
- Conservative Jews: Do you care about Israel? Then vote Trump out - Forward [Last Updated On: June 21st, 2020] [Originally Added On: June 21st, 2020]
- As shul reopens, can we make it more welcoming to Orthodox women? - Forward [Last Updated On: June 22nd, 2020] [Originally Added On: June 22nd, 2020]
- End the Civil War Before It Starts: Vote Engel and Schleifer - The Jewish Press - JewishPress.com [Last Updated On: June 22nd, 2020] [Originally Added On: June 22nd, 2020]
- The Rising Blood Tide of The Alt-Left & the Real Threat of Antifa - AmmoLand Shooting Sports News [Last Updated On: July 12th, 2020] [Originally Added On: July 12th, 2020]
- The Shot Heard Roundand Round and Roundthe World - The Dispatch [Last Updated On: July 12th, 2020] [Originally Added On: July 12th, 2020]
- Netflix launches shuffle button that plays a random show for viewers who dont know what to watch - The Sun [Last Updated On: July 23rd, 2020] [Originally Added On: July 23rd, 2020]
- Why the Alt-Left Is a Problem, Too | Vanity Fair [Last Updated On: July 23rd, 2020] [Originally Added On: July 23rd, 2020]
- What Is Alt-Left? Here's What You Really Need to Know [Last Updated On: July 23rd, 2020] [Originally Added On: July 23rd, 2020]
- What Is the 'Alt-Left'? For Starters, Not a Thing | WIRED [Last Updated On: July 23rd, 2020] [Originally Added On: July 23rd, 2020]
- Howie Carr: Alt-left media still cling to their Big (Russia) Lie - Boston Herald [Last Updated On: July 28th, 2020] [Originally Added On: July 28th, 2020]
- McCarthyite witch-hunt over alleged anti-Semitism explodes in British Labour Party - WSWS [Last Updated On: August 3rd, 2020] [Originally Added On: August 3rd, 2020]
- Antifa Berkeley: Why the 'Alt-Left' Is a Problem | Time [Last Updated On: August 7th, 2020] [Originally Added On: August 7th, 2020]
- Alt-Right, Alt-Left, Antifa: A Glossary of Extremist ... [Last Updated On: August 7th, 2020] [Originally Added On: August 7th, 2020]
- What is the "alt-left" Trump was talking about? - CBS News [Last Updated On: August 7th, 2020] [Originally Added On: August 7th, 2020]
- Is There an 'Alt-Left'? - Snopes.com [Last Updated On: August 7th, 2020] [Originally Added On: August 7th, 2020]
- Say Goodbye to IITs, IIMs Et Al? NEP 2020 Will Convert Indias Top Institutions Into JNU Copies - Swarajya [Last Updated On: August 10th, 2020] [Originally Added On: August 10th, 2020]
- Checking In With the Newsletter Economy - New York Magazine [Last Updated On: September 2nd, 2020] [Originally Added On: September 2nd, 2020]
- Resident Evil survival horror TV series is coming to Netflix and fans think its the next Stranger Things - The Sun [Last Updated On: September 2nd, 2020] [Originally Added On: September 2nd, 2020]
- With Republicans like these, who needs Ds? - The Highland County Press [Last Updated On: September 2nd, 2020] [Originally Added On: September 2nd, 2020]
- Here's Why You Should Never Use the Term "Alt-Left" - POPSUGAR [Last Updated On: September 8th, 2020] [Originally Added On: September 8th, 2020]
- [OPINION] Law and order president? The chaos and violence Trump wants you to be fearful and hateful of is happening now under his watch - Asian... [Last Updated On: September 8th, 2020] [Originally Added On: September 8th, 2020]
- Hungarian Press Roundup: No Compromise in Sight over Theatre and Film University - Hungary Today [Last Updated On: September 8th, 2020] [Originally Added On: September 8th, 2020]
- Slow Joe Biden is a few fries short of a Happy Meal: Howie Carr - Boston Herald [Last Updated On: September 8th, 2020] [Originally Added On: September 8th, 2020]
- Netflix launches its first TV channel that streams shows just like regular telly - The Sun [Last Updated On: November 13th, 2020] [Originally Added On: November 13th, 2020]
- Bellingcat's Eliot Higgins on messaging Alexei Navalny to say 'we know who tried to kill you' - iNews [Last Updated On: February 4th, 2021] [Originally Added On: February 4th, 2021]
- Hungarian Press Roundup: Two Opposing Views on the Culture War - Hungary Today [Last Updated On: February 7th, 2021] [Originally Added On: February 7th, 2021]
- Getting Started with Python PyAutoGUI [Last Updated On: November 29th, 2021] [Originally Added On: November 29th, 2021]
- Sample Macros - Jitbit [Last Updated On: November 29th, 2021] [Originally Added On: November 29th, 2021]
- Mario Draghis fall and the death of Italian left-wing populism - The Spectator [Last Updated On: July 27th, 2022] [Originally Added On: July 27th, 2022]
- I tracked down my Corbynite troll and now he's in prison - The Telegraph [Last Updated On: July 27th, 2022] [Originally Added On: July 27th, 2022]
- Helping Ukraine Not Provoking Russia But a Proper Response to Years of Global Russian Aggression - smallwarsjournal [Last Updated On: July 27th, 2022] [Originally Added On: July 27th, 2022]
- US Gov to Crack Down on "Bossware" That Spies On Employees' Computers [Last Updated On: November 4th, 2022] [Originally Added On: November 4th, 2022]
- Chinese Spaceplane Releases Mystery Object Into Orbit [Last Updated On: November 4th, 2022] [Originally Added On: November 4th, 2022]
- Hackers Just Took Down One of the World's Most Advanced Telescopes [Last Updated On: November 4th, 2022] [Originally Added On: November 4th, 2022]
- AOC Says Her Twitter Account Broke After She Made Fun of Elon Musk [Last Updated On: November 4th, 2022] [Originally Added On: November 4th, 2022]
- Huge Drone Swarm to Form Giant Advertisement Over NYC Skyline [Last Updated On: November 4th, 2022] [Originally Added On: November 4th, 2022]
- That "Research" About How Smartphones Are Causing Deformed Human Bodies Is SEO Spam, You Idiots [Last Updated On: November 4th, 2022] [Originally Added On: November 4th, 2022]
- Jeff Bezos' Housekeeper Says She Had to Climb Out the Window to Use the Bathroom [Last Updated On: November 4th, 2022] [Originally Added On: November 4th, 2022]
- Twitter Working on Plan to Charge Users to Watch Videos [Last Updated On: November 4th, 2022] [Originally Added On: November 4th, 2022]
- Scientists Use Actual Lunar Soil Sample to Create Rocket Fuel [Last Updated On: November 4th, 2022] [Originally Added On: November 4th, 2022]
- NASA Sets Launch Date for Mission to $10 Quintillion Asteroid [Last Updated On: November 4th, 2022] [Originally Added On: November 4th, 2022]