If you want a summary of the current state of Elon Musk’s X project, today, we’ve got two contrasting stories that highlight the varying perspectives on the app, and Musk’s mission to protect free speech as he sees it.
On the day same day as X has launched legal action against the World Federation of Advertisers for advising industry members not to advertise on X, due to brand safety concerns, Musk is also facing sanctions in the U.K. over his incendiary posts about ongoing tensions in the country.
Over the past week, a series of riots have ensued in the U.K., sparked by far-right groups who are protesting the country’s current stance on immigration. More than 400 people have been arrested, and hundreds of charges have been laid thus far.
And Elon, of course, has thoughts:
This post has been widely criticized in the U.K., while Musk has continued to criticize the British Government, both for its policies, and its policing of the unrest.
Musk’s most recent criticism is that U.K. authorities are treating white far-right protesters more harshly than minority groups.
These comments have been condemned by U.K. politicians, and could eventually lead to further sanctions against X, as many view Musk’s remarks as inflaming tensions in the region, provoking more unrest.
Because every time Elon posts, he’s amplifying such claims, sharing them with not only his own 200 million followers in the app, but also even more widely, with X’s algorithm further boosting his reach. That’s likely to lead to an examination by U.K. authorities as to whether Musk can be held liable for playing a role in the protest action, while it may also lead to questions around whether X itself should even be allowed to remain in the U.K. at all.
To be clear, that doesn’t mean that X is facing a ban just yet. But I’d hazard a guess that it will be examined, with Musk’s own divisive stances continuing to draw negative attention for the app.
Which is the core of the broader advertiser re-think about X. And while X is trying to frame this as an industry conspiracy, designed to make X fall into line on accepted speech for selected, sensitive topics, the truth is that it’s Elon himself that’s caused advertisers to abandon the app, leading to an 83% decline in US revenue since he took over in late 2022.
Elon knows, or is at least aware of this.
In May last year, in an interview about his controversial changes at the app, Musk told CNBC that:
“I’ll say what I want, and if the consequence of that is losing money, so be it.”
That is, indeed, going to be the consequence, but now, X is looking for other elements to blame, other factors that could be causing former ad partners to re-consider their options, instead of maintaining X ad spend.
But this is the root cause. If businesses viewed X as too good of an opportunity to ignore, they would keep advertising on X. But they’re not, because Musk himself keeps wading into issues like this, with half the facts at hand, and fanning the flames of division, for no other reason than to flatter his own ego.
It’s not confusing, it’s not some complex process. There’s no far-reaching conspiracy, X’s revenue is suffering because of Elon Musk’s activity.
Which, as noted, Elon was fine with a year ago, and if he wants to burn $44 billion in amplifying his opinions on every subject, that’s his prerogative.
But there are consequences to such, and those consequences might, eventually, lead to the collapse of the platform entirely.
A U.K. ban could be another element in play in X’s gradual downfall, and another reason for advertisers to reconsider the app.
