Pharmaceutical firm Pfizer and food manufacturer General Mills are joining a growing number of companies that have temporarily suspended their advertising on Twitter following Elon Musk’s purchase of the company, The Wall Street Journal reported, citing anonymous sources familiar with the matter.
Companies are worried about the possibility that Musk will reduce content moderation and are unsure about Twitter’s future under his direction, the WSJ reported. Other companies suspending their ads include luxury vehicle maker Audi and Oreo maker Mondelez International.
The group joins General Motors, who suspended their ad presence on Oct. 28, citing a routine halt that occurs when any media platform undergoes significant changes, according to CNBC. Ad buyers anticipate more companies to follow suit, since Twitter’s share of the advertising space is both smaller than that of Google or Meta and considered riskier under Musk, the WSJ reported.
“As always, we will continue to monitor this new direction and evaluate our marketing spend,” Kelsey Roemhildt, a spokeswoman for General Mills, told the WSJ.
Musk made public overtures to advertisers in an Oct. 27 Twitter thread, saying the platform “cannot become a free-for-all hellscape,” despite his commitments to vigorous debate and free speech on the platform. The Tesla co-founder and CEO claimed his goal was to make Twitter “the most respected advertising platform in the world,” and invited advertisers to “build something extraordinary together” with the platform.
