Ad spending on Twitter Inc fell 71% in December, according to an ad research firm, as top advertisers cut spending on the social media platform following Elon Musk’s takeover.
The latest figures from the Standard Media Index (SMI) come as Twitter begins to reverse the trend of losing advertisers. It has launched a series of initiatives to win back advertisers, offering some free ads, lifting political ad bans and allowing companies more control over their ad targeting.
According to SMI, ad spending on Twitter in November was down 55% from last year, even though these months are traditionally a time of higher ad spending as brands promote their products during the holidays.
Twitter did not immediately respond to Reuters’ request for comment.
Estimates from Pathmatics, another research firm, show that most companies stopped spending in November, the same month Musk reinstated suspended accounts and issued paid account verifications that led scammers to impersonate companies.
Pathmatics estimates that 14 of the top 30 advertisers on Twitter stopped all advertising on the platform after Musk took office on Oct. 27.
At a Twitter Spaces event in November, Musk addressed the company’s ad pause and said he understood if advertisers “wanted to give it a minute.”
Around the same time, Musk also accused activist groups of pressuring advertisers to run ads on the social media platform. Advertising sales account for about 90% of Twitter’s revenue.
Citing details shared by a senior Twitter advertising executive at a staff meeting last week, The Information reported that Twitter’s fourth-quarter revenue fell about 35% year-over-year due to a decline in advertising, technology-focused publications.
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