Elon Musk Says Advertisers Returning As He Gears To Make Twitter 'A Positive Force For Civilization'

Elon Musk, the world’s richest person, has announced that Twitter is regaining almost all of the advertisers who left the platform since his acquisition last year. Musk’s goal for Twitter is to “make it a positive force for civilization.”

What Happened: Musk, speaking at a tech conference in Paris, expressed confidence in his new Twitter CEO, Linda Yaccarino, stating that “almost all of the advertisers have said that, they’ve either come back or they said they will come back,” The Wall Street Journal reports.

Yaccarino, who previously led ad sales at NBCUniversal, “understands the concerns that advertisers have and I think will do a great job in addressing those concerns,” Musk added.

Since Musk’s $44 billion Twitter takeover, he has reduced Twitter’s staff in an effort to cut losses, and pledged to make the platform a haven of free speech — a pledge he reiterated on Friday.

However, the company experienced an advertiser exodus, with many companies suspending their advertising spending on the platform over fears that their ads would appear near hate speech, disinformation, or other controversial content.

Musk stated that Twitter’s approach to brand safety is to ensure advertisers don’t appear next to controversial content. “If you’re for example, say, Disney and you’re advertising a children’s movie, then you want to have all-ages content,” he said.

Why It Matters: Twitter’s loss of advertisers has been a significant issue since Musk’s takeover. As Benzinga reported last November, Musk appealed to Twitter advertisers at a virtual town hall, stating, “We obviously don’t want bad things.”

In January, Musk announced that Twitter would offer a zero-ads subscription model, as Benzinga reported. This move was seen as a way to address concerns about the platform’s content and to provide an alternative revenue stream.

However, some advertisers, such as Ben & Jerry’s, have been vocal about their concerns. The ice cream company announced in June that it would no longer pay for ads on Twitter due to the proliferation of hate speech, as Benzinga reported.

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