Musk Thanks Companies For Resuming Ads On Twitter Despite Leftist Pressure Campaign

Twitter CEO Elon Musk expressed his gratitude for companies that resumed advertisements on the platform despite a pressure campaign from leftist activist groups.

Several organizations endorsed a letter to the executives of major Twitter advertisers claiming that “extremists” see Musk’s takeover of the social media platform as “a new opportunity to post the most abusive, harassing, and racist language and imagery,” including “clear threats of violence against people with whom they disagree.” As many as 50 of the largest 100 advertisers “either announced or seemingly stopped” their ads, according to a subsequent report from left-wing Media Matters, one of the groups that endorsed the letter.

Some of the companies, however, are now returning to the platform. Musk said during a public Twitter Spaces meeting that Apple has “fully resumed” advertising. Amazon, which had paused some ads, will now increase overall advertisement spending to $100 million per year, according to Zoe Schiffer, the managing editor of technology outlet Platformer.

“Just a note to thank advertisers for returning to Twitter,” Musk said on Saturday.

Advertisers in the United States that book more than $500,000 in incremental campaigns are now eligible to have their spending matched with a “100% value add” up to a $1 million cap, the largest incentive in the history of Twitter, according to a report from Reuters. Advertisement sales presently account for 90% of revenue, although Musk is attempting to pivot toward a subscription-driven revenue model.

Musk also said that his newest company suffered due to some advertisers’ actions. “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,” he claimed last month. “Extremely messed up! They’re trying to destroy free speech in America.”

Other leftist-aligned organizations which signed the letter include the NAACP, the National Center for Transgender Equality, and the Union of Concerned Scientists. The groups encouraged companies to “cease all advertising” if Musk backed down from content moderation.

The world’s richest man, who told the public that he acquired Twitter to promote free expression, informed advertisers that he desires to foster “a common digital town square, where a wide range of beliefs can be debated in a healthy manner, without resorting to violence.” He vowed, however, that the social media platform would not become a “free-for-all hellscape” where users could breach the law with impunity. Musk recently suspended Ye, formerly known as Kanye West, after the rapper praised Nazi dictator Adolf Hitler during an interview with Alex Jones.

A series of slides provided by Musk to investors and the public indicated that the daily inflow of new users at Twitter had reached two million, while “user active minutes per day” likewise reached eight billion. The company now has more than 250 million monetizable daily active users, Musk said. All three statistics surpass previous company records.

Musk has commented that media coverage of the Twitter acquisition and his subsequent attempts to reform the company, including negative reports from legacy media outlets, has contributed to engagement reaching new heights. The entrepreneur said his current number-one priority is the removal of child exploitation content, which previous management failed to accomplish. Several advertisers paused campaigns on the platform two months ago after a report showed that such material appeared alongside major profiles.