Linda Yaccarino quelled concerns about content moderation on Twitter. Disney, Microsoft and NBA now have their ads displayed next to neo Nazi material.

[TAG0][TAG1]

• Since Elon Musk took over Twitter last year, the relationship between Twitter and its advertisers has been a contentious one.
• Since the new CEO was appointed, brands that had pulled their ads due to concerns about content have returned.
• This week, ads for Disney, NBA and Adobe were placed alongside antisemitic material.

Last month, when former NBC Universal executive Linda Yaccarino became Twitter's new CEO, advertisers breathed a sigh.

The Wrap reports that the presence of the advertising giant, who generated over $100 billion in ad revenue for NBC Universal throughout her 11-year tenure at the company is calming down the contentious relationship major brands have with the social media platform. The platform is not yet a safe space for brands, after Disney, Adobe and Microsoft sponsored posts were pictured alongside neo Nazi propaganda over the weekend.

Tensions with Twitter Advertisers

Brands such as GM, Audi and General Mills have pulled their ads from Twitter for months after Elon Musk took over Twitter last year. They cited concerns about brand safety with the billionaire's new owner.

Musk claimed that "a massive decline in revenue" was caused by the abandonment of advertising campaigns.

Yaccarino is at the helm of these same brands, who are now returning to Twitter to promote their products and services. The Wall Street Journal reported this week that Musk stated, "almost every advertiser has said that they have either returned or said they will return."

GroupM, the largest advertising agency in the world, called Twitter ads "high-risk" last November. They cited concerns about Twitter Blue verified accounts that impersonated high-profile users, and Musk's massive staff cuts. The Verge reported that the group removed the label after Yaccarino's announcement to join the company.

The policies that Musk changed — and the skeleton staff that enforces them — are still in place. According to Alejandra Caballo, an attorney for civil rights and clinical instructor in the Harvard Law School Cyberlaw Clinic, Twitter is not a safe place to advertise major brands just yet.

They don't appear to be taking anything seriously

Caraballo noticed an increase in Twitter ads on Friday. Her observation as an extremism researcher prompted Caraballo to investigate whether the same ads appeared on or near the content posted by neo Nazi and terrorist accounts she follows for research.

Caraballo, who is a member of the Southern Poverty Law Center's hate group list, told Insider that he saw ads on his feed above posts by White Lives Matter California. "No ads were visible on their profile. However, I did notice that they retweeted parts of 'Europa: The Last Battle'."

"Europa The Last Battle", a 2017 propaganda movie, uses antisemitic themes in order to claim that Jews caused both World Wars to create Israel. The 12-hour film, which seems to violate Twitter's rule against "media portraying hateful images," rewrites history by using archival footage and narration to argue Hitler was trying save Germany with genocidal acts in WWII.

Caraballo: "I noticed that clips were being uploaded only by verified accounts." Since Musk took over, accounts can now purchase verification instead of being granted. "I wondered how common this was, so I decided to do a search on Twitter. When I searched for it, my first thought was: "You've got to kidding me." "There are ads that appear directly below this content."

Under the search term "Europa Last Battle," ads for Disney, ESPN the NBA, Adobe and Microsoft appeared. They showed marketing for new shoes or software next to virulent white supremacist material.

–Alejandra Caraballo (@Esqueer_) June 16, 2023

Caraballo's Twitter thread about her discovery — in which she encouraged her followers conduct similar searches to confirm that it wasn't a fluke — led to the removal of the ads from this specific search. Caraballo changed her search to "last battle Europa" the next day. The ads then reappeared alongside the same results.

–Alejandra Caraballo (@Esqueer_) June 16, 2023

Caraballo, a Twitter spokesperson, told Insider that the response was "they appear to have restricted this specific search and not anything else – so they haven’t moderated actual content". "This is a neo Nazi film that's deep antisemitic and is still on this website, right. Racking up 1000s views." It is deeply disturbing, and it seems that they are not taking this matter seriously.

Insider did not receive immediate responses from Disney, ESPN NBA, Adobe or Microsoft.

Spending on advertising to support extremism

Caraballo said she continued to search for ads that were next to extreme content, searching both for obvious terms and more obscure ones to see which had been moderated. She found many more ads that were next to hateful material, which is something brands usually avoid.

Caraballo pointed out that if you search for "groom", Twitter will show "very horrific anti-LGBTQ ads alongside the content."

Caraballo, speaking to Insider, said that while the obvious items that brands want to avoid are already marked, other things, which are less obvious or perhaps not as well-known to brand safety experts can be missed.

She continued: "It shows that the site has a lot of extremist content and yet, brands keep coming back." It's also deeply worrying because, not only does it directly support and fund such content – especially since Twitter now pays Blue verified users that attract viewers – but it also normalizes it, spreading this type of far-right extremist neo Nazi propaganda to audiences who wouldn't otherwise have seen it.

Insider's comment was not answered by the Twitter press department. They only responded with an automated reply.

—————————————————————————————————————————————
By: ktangalakislippert@insider.com (Katherine Tangalakis-Lippert)
Title: Advertisers are returning to Twitter after Linda Yaccarino calmed fears over content moderation. But now brands like Disney, Microsoft, and the NBA have ads placed next to neo-Nazi propaganda.
Sourced From: www.businessinsider.com/disney-microsoft-nba-twitter-ads-next-to-neo-nazi-propaganda-2023-6
Published Date: Mon, 19 Jun 2023 02:20:50 +0000

Related posts:

Some Elon Musk fanatics are upset that Twitter’s newly-appointed CEO Linda Yaccarino will be chairing a World Economic Forum panel. Reports say that Twitter CEO Linda Yaccarino is expected to start several weeks earlier than anticipated. Elon Musk has named Linda Yaccarino Twitter’s new CEO The career of Twitter’s new CEO Linda Yaccarino. An advertising giant, she once tried to convince Elon Musk that he should stop tweeting past 3am.