Ads for more than three dozen brands including major corporations inadvertently appeared on the Twitter pages of white nationalist accounts in recent days after Twitter owner Elon Musk restored swarms of banned users to the social media platform.
SAN FRANCISCO — Ads for more than three dozen brands including major corporations appeared on the Twitter pages of white nationalist accounts in recent days after Twitter owner Elon Musk restored hordes of banned users to the social media platform.Promoted tweets from Amazon, Snap, Uber and the U.S.
In a vast cost-cutting campaign, Musk fired hundreds of Twitter of employees, including entire teams devoted to content moderation of the site, including ensuring ads not appear on content brands would find objectionable.According to a former Twitter employee, speaking on the condition of anonymity for fear of retribution, the accounts must be flagged to prevent advertising from appearing near them — or they will be treated as ad-eligible.
Late last month, Musk, who describes himself as a “free-speech absolutist,” posted a Twitter poll asking users whether he should restore accounts that had not engaged in illegal conduct or spam. Last week, some of those accounts began reappearing on the site, and ads began popping up on the pages of some of the restored accounts.
Having ads inadvertently appear next to such content marks the latest challenge to Musk’s relationship with Twitter advertisers. Already, many companies have been leaving the platform in droves, including after Musk briefly launched a paid-for verification system that produced a host of accounts impersonating celebrities, political figures and major companies. Civil rights groups have called for an ad boycott of the site, arguing that Musk can no longer effectively police it.
Musk and Twitter did not immediately respond to a request for comment. Amazon and Uber did not immediately respond to requests for comment. DHHS and Snap did not have immediate comment. Twitter and other social media companies for years have struggled to ensure advertisements do not show up alongside hateful or otherwise objectionable content.
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