- Volkswagen is the latest brand to stop advertising on Twitter after Elon Musk took over the company.
- Food manufacturer General Mills, which owns brands like Cheerios and Lucky Charms, did the same yesterday.
- Other brands, such as American carmaker General Motors, have also stopped their paid activities on the platform.
Since Elon Musk’s takeover of the social media firm, Volkswagen has become the latest brand to stop advertising on the platform.
“We are closely monitoring the situation and will decide on next steps depending on its evolution,” Europe’s top carmaker said in a statement.
Yesterday, food manufacturer General Mills, which owns brands such as Cheerios and Lucky Charms, did the same — saying it continues to monitor the social media company’s “new direction” and wants to “evaluate.” [its] marketing spend”
Other brands, such as American carmaker General Motors, automobile brand Audi, and pharmaceutical company Pfizer, have also stopped their paid activities on the platform so far.
Musk, who describes himself as an “absolutist for free speech,” has expressed his disagreement with Twitter’s moderate rules in the past. It is widely believed that he will reverse rulings such as barring former US President Donald Trump from using Twitter to spread misinformation.
As a result, companies are now faced with the challenge of determining whether they are willing to risk displaying their ads with content that may be considered dangerous.
Why could this be a problem for Musk in the future? Because, as we’ve discussed before, the bulk of Twitter’s revenue comes from its advertising partners.