The exit of advertisers from Twitter after Elon Musk’s takeover is accelerating, according to two investigations.
The Stop Toxic Twitter coalition of 60 civil rights and civil society groups says 50 of the top 100 advertisers have either announced their withdrawal or just stopped advertising on Twitter.
These advertisers have accounted for nearly $2 billion in spending on the platform since 2020, and more than $750 million so far in 2022.
Global media agencies have also been advising clients to stay away from Twitter until brand safety issues are resolved.
Musk, who bought the social media platform for $US44 billion, has been cutting staff, including those who moderate content such as hate speech.
He has also allowed former president Donald Trump to regain his twitter account, which was switched off after the January 6, 2021, riot in Washington.
The Washington Post says its own analysis found more than a third of Twitter’s top 100 marketers have not advertised on the social media network in the past two weeks.
Dozens of top Twitter advertisers, including 14 of the top 50, have stopped advertising in the few weeks since Musk’s chaotic acquisition of the social media company, according to The Post’s analysis of data from Pathmatics, which offers brand analysis on digital marketing trends.
“Ads for blue-chip brands including Jeep and Mars candy, whose corporate parents were among the top 100 U.S. advertisers on the site in the six months before Musk’s purchase, haven’t appeared there since at least Nov. 7.”
Media Matters, a member of the Stop Toxic Twitter coalition, says analysis of Pathmatics data says many of the companies identified as stopping or slowing advertising are “quiet quitters”.
These companies were previously advertising on Twitter, but then stopped for a significant period of time following direct outreach, controversies and warnings from media buyers.
There are an additional seven advertisers which appear to be slowing the rate of their advertising on the platform to almost nothing.
Since 2020, these seven advertisers have accounted for over $255 million in spending on Twitter, and nearly $118 million in advertising in 2022.
The advertisers identified by Media Matters:
Abbott Laboratories
Allstate Corporation
AMC Networks
American Express Company
AT&T
Big Heart Petcare
BlackRock, Inc.
BlueTriton Brands, Inc.
Boston Beer Company
CA Lottery (California State Lottery)
CenturyLink (Lumen Technologies, Inc.)
Chanel
Chevrolet*
Chipotle Mexican Grill, Inc.*
Citigroup, Inc.
CNN
Dell
Diageo
DirecTV
Discover Financial Services
Fidelity
First National Realty Partners
Ford*
Heineken N.V.
Hewlett-Packard (HP)
Hilton Worldwide
Inspire Brands, Inc.
Jeep*
Kellogg Company
Kohl's Department Stores, Inc.
Kyndryl*
LinkedIn Corporation
MailChimp (The Rocket Science Group)
Marriott International, Inc.
Mars Petcare
Mars, Incorporated
Merck & Co. (Merck Sharp & Dohme MSD)*
Meta Platforms, Inc. (formerly Facebook, Inc.)
MoneyWise (Wise Publishing, Inc.)
Nestle
Novartis AG*
Pernod Ricard
PlayPass
The Coca-Cola Company
The Kraft Heinz Company
Tire Rack
Verizon
Wells Fargo
Whole Foods Market IP
Yum! Brands
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