More than a quarter of advertisers are poised to reduce their expenditure on X due to rising concerns regarding the platform’s content and the reliability of information shared. This trend is highlighted in a new global research report.
Advertising revenue at X has been in a steep decline since Elon Musk acquired the platform, previously known as Twitter, for $44 billion (£38 billion) in October 2022. At the time, Musk asserted that the platform had not reached its potential as a space for ‘free speech.’ However, his unpredictable and often controversial behaviour on X, where he commands nearly 200 million followers, has triggered a backlash from advertisers. Many have either scaled back or entirely halted their promotional activities on the platform.
Research by data firm Kantar, which involved interviews with 18,000 consumers and 1,000 senior marketers globally, indicates that 26% of marketers plan to reduce their ad spend on X in 2025. ‘Marketers are brand custodians and need to trust the platforms they use,’ stated Gonca Bubani, a director at Kantar. ‘X has changed so much in recent years and can be unpredictable from one day to the next. It is difficult to feel confident about your brand safety in that environment.’
The annual Kantar study reveals a sharp increase in the number of marketers pulling budgets, rising from 14% this year. Figures from eMarketer corroborate the platform’s commercial decline, noting global revenues peaked in 2021 at $4.46 billion, with the UK contributing $366 million, representing about 8% of the total. However, global revenues fell to $4.14 billion in 2022, and since Musk’s acquisition at the end of that year, they have plummeted more than half, with projections showing annual revenue decreasing to $1.9 billion by the end of this year, including UK revenues of just $160 million.
Bubani noted, ‘Advertisers have been moving their marketing spend away from X for several years. The stark acceleration of this trend in the past 12 months means a turnaround seems unlikely.’ Musk has faced criticism for posts related to several contentious issues, including antisemitism, UK riots, and US politics. The most recent setback is a ban in Brazil, one of X’s largest markets with over 20 million users. Brazil’s supreme court upheld the ban after the company failed to comply with orders to remove profiles accused of spreading disinformation and to appoint a local legal representative.
The Kantar research further suggests a declining trust among marketers in advertising on X, dropping from 22% in 2022 to 12% this year. Only 4% of marketers believe that ads on X provide brand safety. Last month, X initiated legal action against a global advertising alliance and several major companies, accusing them of unlawfully conspiring to boycott the platform and intentionally causing revenue losses. Musk tweeted at the time, ‘We tried peace for 2 years, now it is war.’ Last year, he addressed advertisers pulling out of X with a profanity-laced message during an on-stage interview in New York.
According to an X spokesperson, ‘Advertisers know that X now offers stronger brand safety, performance and analytics capabilities than ever before, while seeing all-time-high levels of usage. Our brand safety rate is on average 99% as validated by DoubleVerify and Integral Ads Science, which is reflected by the fact that the majority of advertisers are increasing their investment in X, as shown by Kantar’s data.’
The ongoing exodus of advertisers from X underscores the significant challenges the platform faces under Elon Musk’s leadership. Decreasing trust in content and the safety of brand associations are major concerns driving this trend, with many marketers opting to withdraw their budgets, thereby exacerbating the platform’s financial decline.
