Twitter Ad Sales Reportedly Plummet More Than 50% Despite Company Now Allowing Ads for Gambling and Weed
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Twitter remains in dire financial straits — as the platform’s advertising revenue was down by more than half year-over year, following Elon Musk’s takeover.
The New York Times reported that they obtained an internal presentation showing that Twitter’s ad sales from April to early May stood at $88 million. That marks a 59 percent decrease from last year’s sales numbers, and the Times reviewed documents showing that Twitter had “regularly fallen short of its U.S. weekly sales projections, sometimes by as much as 30 percent.”
From the report:
That performance is unlikely to improve anytime soon, according to the documents and seven current and former Twitter employees.
Twitter’s ad sales staff is concerned that advertisers may be spooked by a rise in hate speech and pornography on the social network, as well as more ads featuring online gambling and marijuana products, the people said. The company has forecast that its U.S. ad revenue this month will be down at least 56 percent each week compared with a year ago, according to one internal document.
Ever since Musk took ownership of Twitter and launched his upheaval of the website, his efforts have been met with public discontent, the platform’s valuation has taken a nosedive, and his inciteful conduct has made him a magnet for controversy. Multiple organizations have also corroborated rising hate speech trends as Musk has tried to expand free speech on Twitter.
Despite these setbacks, Musk has said that he stands by his behavior, even if it hurts Twitter’s profitability.
The Times notes that major corporations like General Motors and Volkswagen have paused their ad spending on Twitter, while others like Apple, Amazon and Disney have also slowed down their Twitter ad spending. Advertising officials have also expressed concerns regarding the spread of misinformation and online toxicity brought about by Musk’s policies.
The report went on to note the recent resignations of Twitter’s head of trust and safety, plus their head of brand safety and ad quality. Its not all bad for Twitter though, for the website has seen a spike in adult content, and “in one week last month, four of Twitter’s top 10 U.S. advertisers were online gambling and fantasy sports betting companies, according to one presentation. Twitter has also started allowing ads for cannabis accessories, including “bongs, vapes, rolling paper,” as well as erectile dysfunction products and services.”
