Twitter is in some seriously hot water.
Several major advertisers suddenly suspended their marketing campaigns and ads after their promotions began appearing next to tweets promoting child pornography.
At least 30 different brands have had their ads appear on Twitter accounts which peddle links to the exploitative material.
Companies like Dyson, Mazda and Ecolab have already suspended their Twitter campaigns.
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The companies are said to be “horrified” by the news.
Many are threatening to stop buying Twitter ads entirely.
Maybe if Twitter focused less on banning conservatives and more on removing this kind of disgusting content, they wouldn’t have this problem.
Major advertisers have suspended their marketing campaigns on Twitter because their promotions are appearing alongside tweets soliciting child pornography. https://t.co/501CAYkJSX
— NEWSMAX (@NEWSMAX) September 28, 2022
Newsmax has more details on this alarming development:
Some major advertisers including Dyson, Mazda and chemicals company Ecolab have suspended their marketing campaigns or removed their ads from parts of Twitter because their promotions are appearing alongside tweets soliciting child pornography, the companies told Reuters.
Ads for at least 30 brands, ranging from Walt Disney Co., Comcast Corp’.s NBCUniversal and Coca-Cola Co. to a children’s hospital, have appeared on the profile pages of Twitter accounts that peddle links to the exploitative material, according to a Reuters review of accounts identified in new research about child sex abuse online from cybersecurity group Ghost Data.
Some of tweets include key words related to “rape” and “teens,” and appeared alongside promoted tweets from corporate advertisers, the Reuters review found. In one example, a promoted tweet for shoe and accessories brand Cole Haan appeared next to a tweet in which a user said they were “trading teen/child” content.
BREAKING: Major Companies Are Pulling Twitter Ads After Learning They Appear Alongside Posts Peddling Child Pornhttps://t.co/ohiFDUaZJE
— Jack Poso 🇺🇸 (@JackPosobiec) September 28, 2022
Major brands suspended Twitter marketing campaigns because ads appeared next to child porn https://t.co/10atqppikt pic.twitter.com/rHkjT6KPJW
— Al Jazeera English (@AJEnglish) September 28, 2022
Scoop: Twitter told advertisers this morning it had mistakenly served ads on profiles that were selling or soliciting child sexual abuse material https://t.co/Klt1BPrsL9
— Lara O'Reilly (@larakiara) September 28, 2022
Exclusive: Brands blast Twitter for ads next to child pornography accounts https://t.co/Wm1N26ct5s pic.twitter.com/pnmzzR2AOo
— Reuters (@Reuters) September 28, 2022
Twitter is apparently investigating the situation, and investing more resources dedicated to child safety.
A spokesperson for Twitter said that the company “has zero tolerance for child sexual exploitation.”
Reuters has more on the immediate reaction:
“We’re horrified,” David Maddocks, brand president at Cole Haan, told Reuters after being notified that the company’s ads appeared alongside such tweets. “Either Twitter is going to fix this, or we’ll fix it by any means we can, which includes not buying Twitter ads.”
In another example, a user tweeted searching for content of “Yung girls ONLY, NO Boys,” which was immediately followed by a promoted tweet for Texas-based Scottish Rite Children’s Hospital. Scottish Rite did not return multiple requests for comment.
In a statement, Twitter spokesperson Celeste Carswell said the company “has zero tolerance for child sexual exploitation” and is investing more resources dedicated to child safety, including hiring for new positions to write policy and implement solutions.
She added that Twitter is working closely with its advertising clients and partners to investigate and take steps to prevent the situation from happening again.
Twitter’s challenges in identifying child abuse content were first reported in an investigation by tech news site The Verge in late August. The emerging pushback from advertisers that are critical to Twitter’s revenue stream is reported here by Reuters for the first time.
Twitter prioritizes removing people for mean tweets & misinformation over removing child pornography. 😬 https://t.co/WmiKLR5fju
— Angela McArdle (@angela4LNCChair) September 28, 2022
How TF is there child porn on twitter? https://t.co/6Zcs6hsIWo
— Anthony BG (@NitroGiAnt90) September 28, 2022
What is child porn doing on Twitter?! That's awful.
— Cp4 (@cfprop4) September 28, 2022
Why is twitter allowing child sexual abuse material on its platform.
— Misty (@Misty028d) September 28, 2022
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