Despite X’s claims of ensuring maximum brand safety for advertisers, concerns continue to rise as more incidents are reported. Hyundai recently announced a pause in its ad spend on X after discovering its ads were being displayed alongside pro-Nazi content. This comes in the wake of a report by NBC highlighting numerous accounts, including blue checkmark profiles, sharing pro-Nazi content on the platform. X denied the report but has since acknowledged the issue and suspended the profile in question.
X’s new approach to free speech, focusing on “freedom of speech, not reach,” seems unsustainable in meeting advertiser expectations. With an 80% reduction in total staff, including moderation and safety employees, the platform is struggling to detect and take action against content that violates its policies. Despite X’s claims that posts with reach penalties are not eligible for ad placement, independent analysis reports show otherwise, indicating a failure in detecting violative content or malfunctioning ad placement controls.
While X relies heavily on AI and crowd-sourced Community Notes for moderation, experts argue that human moderators are still necessary. A comparison with other platforms reveals that X has a significantly lower moderator-to-user ratio, suggesting that its staff cuts have increased reliance on less effective systems and processes. Safety analysts criticize Community Notes for their ineffectiveness in enforcement due to gaps in parameters and delays in appearance.
Elon Musk’s preference for minimal to no moderation on X raises concerns about the spread of misinformation and harmful content. Musk’s belief in allowing all perspectives to be presented without fact-checking has led to verified accounts amplifying incorrect information to millions of users. The erosion of trust in verified accounts, once seen as sources of accurate information, has allowed conspiracy theorists to gain traction by paying for promotion on the platform.
Despite X’s claim of a 99.99% brand safety rate, repeated incidents of ads being displayed alongside harmful content raise questions about the actual effectiveness of its brand safety measures. The recent apology from ad measurement platform DoubleVerify for misreporting X’s brand safety data further adds to the uncertainty. The fact that the Hyundai ad placement issue was only addressed after Hyundai raised it to X, not detected by X’s systems, highlights the platform’s ongoing challenges in maintaining brand safety.
X’s brand safety issues reflect a broader problem with its moderation and enforcement mechanisms. The platform’s approach to free speech, coupled with staff cuts and reliance on AI, has resulted in lapses in detecting and addressing harmful content. The lack of stringent moderation has allowed misinformation to thrive, posing risks to users and advertisers alike. Moving forward, X must reevaluate its moderation strategies and prioritize the safety and trust of its user base to ensure a sustainable and responsible platform.
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