With X now banned in Brazil after an extended legal battle with its Supreme Court, the social media platform formally known as Twitter will also lose significant levels of ad revenue into 2025, according to a survey of advertising firms.
Read: Tech Bytes: Brazilian judge threatens to shut down X; blocks Starlink bank accounts
A global survey by market research firm Kantar revealed 26% of marketers (net) plan to reduce their spending on X in 2024, the biggest recorded pull-back from any major ad platform.
The sticking point appears to be “brand safety”, with many firms raising concerns over the toxic and potentially illegal content on X that their ads could be displayed alongside.
Only 4% of advertising firms believe the platform provides “brand safety” compared to 39% for Google, the leading platform.
Trend unlikely to reverse course
“Advertisers have been moving their marketing spend away from X for several years,” said Kantar global thought leadership director for media Gonca Bubani.
“The stark acceleration of this trend in the past 12 months means a turnaround currently seems unlikely.
“Marketers are brand custodians and need to trust the platforms they use. X has changed so much in recent years and can be unpredictable from one day to the next – it’s difficult to feel confident about your brand safety in that environment.
“Ironically, decreasing spend by marketers on X will make consumers happier with the platform as they come face to face with fewer ads.”
Amazon and TikTok are currently the leading platforms in terms of consumer preference, while marketers prefer YouTube and Instagram.
Bluesky the new X in Brazil?
Social media platform Bluesky says that 2.6 million users have joined its platform in the last few days alone, with 85% of those accounts coming from Brazil.
Given the company only had 9 million users, that’s a massive spike in just a few dozen hours.
Bluesky’s interface closely resembles X’s, making it an easier transition. The app also uses a decentralised moderation structure, relying on users to manage content themselves directly.
While it still has a built-in reporting feature to alert the platform to harmful content, it also gives users flexible moderation tools, allowing them to block selected key words, content types or entire accounts.
The difference could make Bluesky a far more robust platform, as there would be no need to issue the platform with ban requests similar to those that got X outright banned in Brazil.
Threads has also benefited from X’s ban, although it’s unclear exactly how much, with internet searches for the platform quadrupling in Brazil since.
While neither can claim to have fully replaced X in Brazil, it won’t take long for the void to be filled one way or another.