Elon Musk admitted on Friday that Twitter is taking a major financial hit from lost advertisers — and accused “activist groups” of “trying to destroy free speech.”
“Twitter has had a massive drop in revenue, due to activist groups pressuring advertisers, even though nothing has changed with content moderation and we did everything we could to appease the activists,” Musk tweeted.
“Extremely messed up! They’re trying to destroy free speech in America,” Musk added.
Musk did not elaborate on whether he viewed certain activist groups as responsible for the sudden revenue plunge. But the new Twitter owner has faced a mountain of criticism in recent days from groups and activists who fear his emphasis on free speech will embolden extremist voices on the platform.
Earlier this week, a group of more than 40 civil rights and activist groups urged Twitter’s top 20 advertisers to withhold their advertising dollars unless Musk agreed to uphold content moderation standards and crack down on hate speech. The open letter’s signatories included Media Matters, GLAAD and the NAACP, among dozens of others.
As The Post reported, major advertising firms have prepped backup plans to move their budgets to other platforms due to concerns about Musk’s ownership of Twitter. Interpublic Group, a “Big Four” advertising firm, recommended that its clients pause spending on Twitter due to the uncertain outlook.
Fears about Musk’s approach to content moderation surged in recent days after the billionaire posted and then deleted an article detailing an unfounded conspiracy theory about the attack on House Speaker Nancy Pelosi’s husband, Paul.
Meanwhile, NBA superstar LeBron James and others called out Twitter after a surge of racially charged hate speech on the platform.
Musk and his top advisers have scrambled to reassure advertisers. In an open letter to Twitter’s ad partners last week, Musk said he would not allow the platform to become a “hellscape” and acknowledged his commitment to brand safety on the site.
Musk is also taking steps to diversify Twitter’s revenue stream as advertisers balk. The company is in the process of rolling out a revamped “Twitter Blue” paid subscription model that will charge users $8 per month for account verification and other perks.
The billionaire elaborated on that effort while responding to criticism from famed author Stephen King, who had slammed the company’s plan to charge for its “blue check” badges.
“We need to pay the bills somehow! Twitter cannot rely entirely on advertisers,” Musk said at the time.
Twitter is also aiming to cut costs through a round of sweeping layoffs. The cuts began on Friday, with about half of the company’s workforce said to be affected.