Concerns that the Elon Musk-era Twitter is not a brand-safe place for advertisers appear to have been well founded, as companies such as Microsoft, Disney, Adobe and the Telegraph found themselves appearing alongside a neo-nazi propaganda film last week.
Europa: The Last Battle is pitched as a documentary, but is described by the Anti-Defamation League as a “World War II revisionist film … that claims Jews deliberately caused both World Wars”.
But this hasn’t stopped brands algorithmically being placed alongside it on Twitter. Users were able to find household names such as Harper Collins, the NBA, Sony Music, Qatar Airways, Monzo and more reportedly appearing alongside the antisemitic film.
Here's @Microsoft, @Adobe, @Disney, @HarperCollins just to name a few. pic.twitter.com/bvZbf4N9VR
— Alejandra Caraballo 🏳️🌈🏳️⚧️🇵🇷 (@Esqueer_) June 16, 2023
The film itself simultaneously “denies the proven reality of the Holocaust whilst providing justifications for the violent antisemitism that fuelled it”, according to Hope Not Hate researcher Gregory Davis.
“Its mix of blatant falsehoods and slanted portrayal of real events gives it no historical legitimacy whatsoever, and it serves only to demonise the Jewish people and whitewash the crimes of the Nazi regime,” he told the Jewish Chronicle.
Suffice it to say, family-friendly brands don’t wish to appear alongside hateful content, and the fact that Twitter apparently cannot guarantee this in the Musk era may go some way to explaining why advertisers are increasingly wary of the platform.
Back in November, Musk acknowledged the “massive drop in revenue”, but blamed it on “activist groups pressuring advertisers” rather than brands being understandably cautious about their reputation, the rise of hate speech on the platform and the swingeing cuts to content moderation.
Whatever the cause, brand flight seems to be a real phenomenon, despite Musk’s assurances in April that things are more or less back to normal.
According to a recent New York Times report, Twitter advertising revenue is down 59% year on year, giving new CEO Linca Yaccarino a mountain to climb on the road to profitability.
