Pharmaceutical firm Pfizer and food manufacturer General Mills are joining a growing number of companies that have temporarily suspended their advertising on Twitter following Elon Musk’s purchase of the company, The Wall Street Journal reported, citing anonymous sources familiar with the matter.
Companies are worried about the possibility that Musk will reduce content moderation and are unsure about Twitter’s future under his direction, the WSJ reported. Other companies suspending their ads include luxury vehicle maker Audi and Oreo maker Mondelez International. (RELATED: Musk To Lay Off Half Of Twitter’s Staff: REPORT)
The group joins General Motors, who suspended their ad presence on Oct. 28, citing a routine halt that occurs when any media platform undergoes significant changes, according to CNBC. Ad buyers anticipate more companies to follow suit, since Twitter’s share of the advertising space is both smaller than that of Google or Meta and considered riskier under Musk, the WSJ reported.
“As always, we will continue to monitor this new direction and evaluate our marketing spend,” Kelsey Roemhildt, a spokeswoman for General Mills, told the WSJ.
General Mills’ Cinnamon Toast Crunch 18.8-ounce boxes are on display on a supermarket shelf on October 15, 2021, in Arlington, Virginia. (Photo by OLIVIER DOULIERY/AFP via Getty Images)
Musk made public overtures to advertisers in an Oct. 27 Twitter thread, saying the platform “cannot become a free-for-all hellscape,” despite his commitments to vigorous debate and free speech on the platform. The Tesla co-founder and CEO claimed his goal was to make Twitter “the most respected advertising platform in the world,” and invited advertisers to “build something extraordinary together” with the platform.
Behind closed doors, Musk has also met with large advertisers in an effort to reassure them personally, the WSJ reported. Musk met with representatives of WPP PLC, one of the largest ad companies in the world, in a Nov. 2 video call where he promised that brands would be safe on Twitter.
Cosmetics giant L’Oreal has denied a Financial times report that it pulled its advertisements from Twitter, Reuters reported Wednesday.
Musk is reportedly planning to end the practice of lifetime bans for Twitter users that have violated the platform’s policies. He tweeted on Nov. 2 that the process of re-platforming users would likely take “a few more weeks” and Twitter’s “content moderation council” would be comprised of members with “widely divergent views.”
General Mills, Pfizer, Mondelez International, Audi and Twitter did not immediately respond to a Daily Caller News Foundation request for comment.
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