Activists Urge Companies to Pull Advertising Money from Twitter
Friday, Twitter’s new CEO Elon Musk kept his original promise to cut the tech platform’s workforce by approximately 50% by laying-off nearly 3,700 individuals. Musk explained in a tweet that the layoffs are a necessity, stating, “unfortunately there is no choice when the company is losing over $4M/day. Everyone exited was offered 3 months of severance, which is 50% more than legally required.”
Prior to the layoffs, left-wing activist groups banned together to urge major corporations to suspend all advertising payments to Twitter. Organizations including Media Matters, The Stop Hate for Profit Coalition, Free Press, Accountable Tech, Color of Change, the Anti-Defamation League, and others have formed an alliance dubbed, “Stop Toxic Twitter,” to demand that Musk commit to muting “extremist activity, racism, antisemitism, homophobia, disinformation and more.”
Content that radical activist groups find “harmful” or “dangerous” has been suppressed on tech platforms for years due to the federal government’s interference and collusion with companies to censor speech. Conservatives, who have largely been silenced by this web-regime, were initially thrilled by Twitter’s acquisition by Musk, but now fear that he may reverse course on free speech in order to satisfy the leftist mob.
Musk explained in a Twitter post that the tech platform has lost a significant amount of revenue, (approximately 90% of Twitter revenue is generated by advertisers) due to “activist groups pressuring advertisers,” and condemned their actions, calling them an attack on free speech. Musk has attempted on multiple occasions to find middle ground with the activist groups, but has failed to conciliate their frustration.
“We’ve made no change in our operations at all. And we’ve done our absolute best to appease them and nothing is working. So this is a major concern. And I think this is frankly an attack on the First Amendment.”
Elon Musk — CNBC
Activists claim that the massive employee layoffs contradict Musk’s promise to moderate content, and assert that without the workforce, Twitter will be unable to flag “harmful” content.
So far, companies including United Airlines, Pfizer, Ford Motor, General Motors, General Mills, Volkswagen, and Oreo manufacturer Mondelez International have already suspended advertising spending on Twitter. Musk wrote directly to advertisers, explaining that he simply wants a platform that promotes free speech and civil discourse while discouraging violence, however his attempts will likely prove unsuccessful.
Trying to negotiate with far-left activists is counterproductive. Musk is acting under the assumption that he is working with people who have the same goal in mind as he does: to enjoy a platform that is beneficial for all and encourages productive conversations. The left however, does not want this, in fact, they don’t want dissenting voices at all. They do not want individuals to have the ability to challenge the curated narrative.
In order to curb profit losses, Musk recently introduced paid Twitter verifications, which require individuals to pay $8 per month to receive and retain their blue checkmark, indicating that the account has validity.
Many conservatives still have faith that Musk will keep his promise and use Twitter constructively to bridge the political divide by providing a neutral, virtual town square. Never the less, it is still important to maintain a healthy level of skepticism, given that employees do not always follow marching orders.
