SAN FRANCISCO (KCBS RADIO) – More than 40 civil rights groups are urging Twitter's top advertisers to leave the social media giant if Elon Musk does away with the platform's content moderation standards.
Few know exactly what Twitter under Elon Musk will look like after the richest man in the world completed his $44 billion purchase of the company last month.
Musk has thrown out the possibility of adding premium accounts, a subscription fee for users – first proposed as $2 per month, then increased to $8 – and the possible reinstatement of banned accounts.
"It's kind of reflective of how this deal has gone awfully long," Anthony Juliano, Vice President and General Manager at Asher Agency, told KCBS Radio. He said the possible alterations aren't necessarily all bad for a platform in need of a reinvigoration.
"The challenge that Twitter has had is that it's been on the decline for quite some time," Juliano said. "There was a time when it was number two among social media platforms. Now by many estimates it's at best number five."
CNET Editor-at-Large Ian Sherr reiterated the platform’s need for a shakeup. He said that while Twitter has succeeded at many things over the years, the one thing it hasn't done is make money.
"Twitter has always been a very mediocre business," Sherr explained to KCBS Radio. "They've struggled to keep profits, they have not been anywhere close to as successful as Facebook was. So it makes sense for him to try to figure something else out."
However, most of Musk's ideas have faced severe pushback, specifically his plan to tie the blue verification check to paid accounts as opposed to its original intention as a tool to tackle misinformation.
"That raises a lot of questions about people who might act in bad faith and try and get an account approved for $8 a month that pretends to be someone that they're not," Sherr explained.
Will these advertisers stick around amid heavy public backlash? Juliano said ultimately, they'll go where the users go.
"There's a lot of users who have left Twitter kind of suddenly and abruptly as his ownership was taking place," he said. "Others have joined or rejoined Twitter as a result of him taking ownership. And advertisers are in wait and see mode."
Follow KNX News 97.1 FM
Twitter | Facebook | Instagram | TikTok
Related
Related
