United Airlines Holdings Inc joined the list of companies suspending ad spending on Twitter, a United spokeswoman confirmed late on Friday.
Major brands such as General Mills Inc and luxury automaker Audi of America said on Thursday they have paused advertising on Twitter, days after billionaire Elon Musk acquired the social media platform for $44 billion.
Major U.S. airline operator United Airlines said it was suspending advertising on Twitter as concerns grew over social media’s new direction under new owner Elon Musk. Since taking power last week, hate speech, misinformation and anti-Semitic content have surged on the platform as the South African-born billionaire has pledged to restore free speech to Twitter feeds .
On Friday, the Anti-Defamation League (ADL) called on all advertisers to suspend their relationship with Twitter, offering harsh criticism of Musk’s leadership.
Several civil rights groups, including the ADL, a Jewish nongovernmental organization that aims to combat anti-Semitism and extremism and specializes in civil rights, met with Musk this week to discuss a rise in tweets containing hate speech, racial slurs, anti-Semitism, extremism and misinformation since he took over as Twitter’s helm last week. The groups also reportedly pushed Musk on halted content moderation practices and election integrity in the United States ahead of Tuesday’s midterms.
By Friday, the ADL made the plea to companies and commercial operations to cease spending ad money on Twitter. The Network Contagion Research Institute, a firm that monitors the spread of online hate and disinformation, said anti-Jewish content on Twitter was experiencing a “prolific surge” and that “the most engaged tweets are overtly antisemitic.”
The Stop Hate For Profit coalition, a group that includes the ADL, said in a statement that since their meeting, “hate and disinformation have proliferated” and Musk “has taken actions that make us fear that the worst is yet to come.
Musk said last week that he wouldn’t make significant decisions about the content or restoring banned accounts before setting up a “content moderation board” with diverse views. He reiterated that point on Wednesday, adding that the council he is assembling will include “the civil rights community and groups dealing with hate-fueled violence.”
The Tesla CEO has publicly said he would let former US President Donald Trump return to the site, although Trump – who regularly touts his own Truth Social platform – has not indicate his return.
Civil rights groups had urged during their meeting with Musk this week that Twitter establish a transparent process for restoring banned accounts.