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Apple and Amazon among firms facing pressure to halt advertising on Twitter

Published: 12:30 22 Nov 2022 GMT

Twitter Inc -

Civil rights activists have ramped up calls for advertisers to leave Twitter Inc (NYSE:TWTR), threatening the social media’s main source of revenue after chief executive Elon Musk seemingly broke his promises on content moderation.

By polling Twitter users and subsequently unbanning former US president, Donald Trump’s account, activists claim Musk contradicted his own October tweet that read:

“Twitter will be forming a content moderation council with widely diverse viewpoints.

“No major content decisions or account reinstatements will happen before that council convenes.”

Stop Toxic Twitter, a coalition of over 60 civil rights and society groups, has upped its pressure on advertisers to stop using the platform as a result.

“Until Musk can invest in and prioritize teams that can robustly enforce Twitter’s existing community standards, the platform is not safe for users nor advertisers,” it wrote.

Listing companies, including Amzon.com Inc, Apple Inc (NASDAQ:AAPL), Coca Cola HBC AG (LSE:CCH), Alphabet Inc (NASDAQ:GOOG)’s Google, Unilever PLC (LSE:ULVR) and many more, the coalition said they “should immediately stop advertising on Twitter".

Donald Trump’s account, which was banned following the January 6 2021 US Capitol riots, was reinstated after a public vote on the platform by Elon Musk saw 52% of respondents support the move.

Kanye West also saw his account restored, following a ban resulting from antisemitic remarks the rapper made in October.

Elon Musk’s takeover of Twitter has sparked controversy after controversy, with mass job cuts and warnings to remaining staff of long hours causing a huge backlash.

Most recently, mass resignations have left Twitter teams massively under-staffed, as employees choose to leave their jobs rather than face the “intense” working culture that Musk has warned of.

These issues seem to be spreading throughout the ranks, with the head of the company’s French operations, Damien Viel, quitting on Sunday, warning that “it’s over” for the social media company.

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