Twitter Lost Over 70 Per Cent Ad Revenue In December, After Elon Musk's Takeover: Report

Total advertising spending on Twitter declined by 71 per cent in December.

Twitter is trying to lure them back by offering some free ads, lifting a ban on political advertising. ( Image: Getty )

Top advertisers cut their spending on the micro-blogging platform after a chaotic takeover by tech billionaire Elon Musk last year and total advertising spending on Twitter declined by 71 per cent in December, the media has reported. According to a report by news agency Reuters, data from an advertising research firm showed that top advertisers slashed their spending on Twitter after Musk's takeover.

As per data shown by Standard Media Index (SMI), the company is, however, moving to reverse the advertiser exodus. The company is trying to lure them back by offering some free ads, lifting a ban on political advertising and allowing firms greater control over the positioning of their ads, the report added.

Ad spending on Twitter in November fell 55 per cent from last year despite these months traditionally being a time of higher ad spending as brands promote their products during the holiday season, the SMI data further added.

The company’s daily revenue fell 40 per cent year-over-year after the advertising squeeze, according to tech newsletter the Platformer. 

It should be noted that big brands such as luxury automakers Audi and Ford, tech behemoths HP and Dell, Facebook parent Meta Coca-Cola, Verizon, AT&T, Wells Fargo, American Express and Chanel among other advertisers had either pulled ads from Twitter or publicly confirmed they are stopping ads from the social media platform, previous reports suggested.

Within Musk's takeover of Twitter in October, 50 of the top 100 Twitter advertisers either announced or stopped advertising on the platform. These advertisers accounted for nearly $2 billion in spending on the platform since 2020, and over $750 million in advertising in 2022 alone, says a previous report by Media Matters For America.