Tesla and SpaceX CEO Elon Musk has once again taken a jab at Meta Platforms Inc.’s META advertising system as reports about advertisers complaining about glitches surfaced.
What Happened: On Wednesday, in response to a user’s post on X, formerly Twitter, Musk likened sharing a Facebook link to using an AOL email address. “Seeing a Facebook link is like an @aol.com email address.”
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His post came after Bloomberg cited several marketers complaining that Meta’s once reliable ad system faltered. “There is something just terribly broken about Meta right now,” said Cody Plofker, chief marketing officer at makeup brand Jones Road Beauty.
Many marketers have reported significant performance challenges on Facebook and Instagram, owned by Meta, which is known for its algorithmic prowess in strategically placing advertisements across its platforms.
Ad campaign costs have surged notably, yet outcomes vary, with subsequent sales declining. Despite these issues, the report noted that the company has not provided any official clarification, according to ad buyers.
Mark Zuckerberg’s company has acknowledged reports about the glitches but said they weren’t widespread.
“Our ads system is working as expected for the vast majority of advertisers,” a company spokesperson said in a statement, adding, “We recently fixed a few technical issues and are researching a small amount of additional reports from advertisers to ensure the best possible results for businesses using our apps.”
Why It Matters: Despite Meta’s response, Musk took a potshot at the tech giant. His post hinted that Facebook and AOL were once dominant players in their respective fields, but they have lost relevance over time.
AOL was a major internet service provider, while Facebook emerged as the social media platform in the mid-2000s. AOL’s popularity waned as broadband internet became more widespread, and users moved away from dial-up connections. Similarly, Facebook has faced criticism and declining user engagement due to privacy concerns, algorithm changes, and competition from other social media platforms.
This is not the first time Musk has criticized Meta. In February, he slammed Disney’s ad spending on Meta amid Instagram’s child exploitation allegations. In March, Musk accused Meta of falsely taking credit for X sales after Facebook and Instagram advertisers filed a $7 billion lawsuit.
Earlier this month, the tech billionaire also mocked Meta after the Facebook, Instagram, and WhatsApp outage, attributing it to the platforms being “distracted selling their user’s data.”
Meanwhile, Musk’s EV giant, Tesla, officially started paid advertisements on Instagram last month. This move came on the heels of Tesla's comeback to Facebook, after a six-year hiatus.
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