Activists are calling on the site's biggest moneymen to keep the ship afloat because they fear that soon-to-be Musk may turn the platform into a megaphone. On Tuesday a group of over 25 digital activist and advocacy groups led by Accountable Tech, Media Matters, and UltraViolet issued a public letter calling on Twitter's top advertisers to commit to a set of non-negotiable content. Musk would have to choose between buffing noxious content and billions of dollars in ad revenue. The organizations want advertisers to make sure controversial banned accounts of political and public figures are removed. The letter addresses Musk's recent musings about an open source open source open source open source open source open source open source open source open source open source open source open source open source open source open source open source open source open source open source open source open source open source open source open source The council of privacy experts with a history of considering the implications of tech on communities that are discriminated against in speaking truth to power is what the groups recommend. Nicole Gill, Accountable Tech Co-Founder and Executive Director, told Gizmodo that advertisers were the best point of leverage to safeguard certain Twitter policies. Gill said that the sole source of funding is that of Elon.
The revenues do matter. The fate of his ownership will be decided by the markets.
Co-signatories to the letter didn't shy away from spelling out the potential threats they see stemming from Musk attempts to acquire Twitter.
The groups write that Musk's takeover will endanger public safety and be a threat to those already vulnerable and marginalized. Musk's previous behavior and cryptic statements about free speech leads them to believe that he intends to dismantle moderation safeguards, amplify harmful content and implement a vision that could be detrimental to the community.
While the letter acknowledges the numerous, often nausea inducing faults, it also praises the company for acting as a guidepost for other firms on certain issues. The activists call on advertisers to both act as stalwart against a potential Musk meltdown as well as acting to preserve elements of the platform currently working.
Under Musk's management, Twitter risks becoming a cesspool of misinformation, with your brand attached, polluting our information ecosystems in a time where trust in institutions and news media is already at an all-time low. We call on you to pull your advertising spending from the social network if Musk doesn't uphold the basic standards of community trust and safety.
The activists were able to get the attention of the troll king. Musk tried to question the legitimacy of the organizations involved in the letter after reading a CNN article about it.
Who funds organizations that want to control your access to information? Sunlight is the best disinfectant, Musk wrote.
Gill from Accountable Tech said that Musk didn't appear willing to agree to the safeguards they and the other organizations had outlined.
Gill said that he can't agree that the safeguards will be kept in place. It shows you everything you need to know about the man and his purchase here.
The company didn't respond immediately to Gizmodo's request for comment but did try to assure advertisers that they were okay.
The company said they have no planned changes to their commitment to brand safety and will continue to lead in products that protect, policies that lead, and partnerships that matter. The company said it couldn't speculate on how the new owner would change the business operations.
The Financial Times reported recently that officials at the social media platform are busy trying to convince advertisers not to leave the platform. Coca-Cola isn't jazzed about the idea of having their news CokeZero ad appear alongside neo-Nazi posts calling for genocide.
Gill pointed to a few more family friendly brands, like Coca-Cola, that may be among the most likely to be affected by madness.
I don't think companies like that are willing to risk the blowback.
An exodus of advertisers away from the platform could be disastrous for the company. Like most other internet services, it is dependent on advertising to pay the bills and keep the cesspools flowing. Advertising services accounted for almost all of the $5.08 billion in revenue that was generated by the company last year. Advertising revenue is on the rise. The company reported a 22% year over year increase in advertising revenue in the final quarter of the year. The ads are oil.
Musk's vision for the company's future may be affected by continued advertiser revenue. Musk has been giving interviews and posting on his social media accounts in order to court favor with right-wing users who have come to dislike the platform. According to a recent Morning Consult poll, over half of Republican voters don't feel like they can express themselves online. Only a small number of Democrats agreed with that sentiment.
The author of the letter thinks that Musk's reign may lead to the creation of moderation-free sites like Gab, Parler, and 8Chan. None of those companies have a similar valuation to that of Twitter. Unless Musk has a plan to change the business model overnight, he will have no choice but to color.
Gill said that there was just a few tech billionaires CEOs that had much unchecked power over the global discourse.
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