Elon Musk’s social network, formerly known as Twitter but now referred to as X, typically sees a surge in ad revenue at the end of the year as brands seek to capitalize on holiday season advertising. However, this year might not be as lucrative for X, as reported by The New York Times.
According to internal documents obtained by The Times, more than 100 brands, including political advertisers, have completely halted their ads on the platform. Additionally, many others are considering pulling their campaigns. If advertisers continue to abstain, X could face a potential loss of up to $75 million in ad revenue by the end of this year.
The documents detail the potential consequences for X if brands continue to leave the platform. This includes the initial suspension of ads by certain brands shortly after Elon Musk’s controversial tweet, where he endorsed an antisemitic conspiracy theory.
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In response to Musk’s tweet, Media Matters released a report revealing ads appearing alongside antisemitic content on the platform. X then filed a lawsuit against the organization, accusing it of intentionally juxtaposing advertisers’ posts with Neo-Nazi and white nationalist fringe content.
As a result of these incidents, major brands like IBM, Apple, and Disney swiftly withdrew their ads from X. Lionsgate explicitly pointed to Musk’s tweet as the reason for suspending its advertising, and Ubisoft was among the first video game companies to follow suit.
Airbnb suspended over $1 million worth of advertising on X, while Netflix withdrew $3 million in ads. X also faces potential losses of $4 million in ad revenue as Microsoft’s subsidiaries pause their campaigns. Notable brands like Uber and Coca-Cola have also chosen to temporarily suspend their advertising on X.
In response to The New York Times, X disputed the figures, stating that the mentioned numbers were either outdated or part of an internal risk assessment. X emphasized that the actual revenue at risk is only $11 million, and this figure fluctuates as advertisers either return or increase their ad spending.
