Cassette advised Ottawa to suspend Twitter ads

Quebec ad firm Cosette, which plans the bulk of the federal government’s advertising, has instructed the federal government to halt its ads on Twitter, CBC News reported Sunday.

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According to an internal company document obtained by the outlet, Cassette made the recommendation on Friday due to “uncertainty over moderation” and “higher risk to brand image.”

The company believes the government should pause its advertising partnership to assess Twitter’s evolution. The central government did not immediately respond.

Ottawa’s advertising spending on Twitter reached $3.2 million in 2020-21, nearly tripling the amount from 2019-20. However, the year was marked by the Covid-19 pandemic and an avalanche of health advertising, during which the federal digital advertising budget doubled.

The American social network has been in turmoil since its takeover by billionaire billionaire Elon Musk, who promised to ease content regulation to promote freedom of expression.

“Twit-in-Chief”, Mr. Musk changed his name after spending $44 billion to acquire Twitter, which on Friday laid off about 3,700 employees, representing half of Twitter’s payroll. The addition of an $8 per month subscription option to verify accounts is also planned in the coming weeks.

Concerned about the goals of Twitter’s new leader, several advertisers such as General Mills, General Motors or Mondelez International decided to stop their links with the platform in the last week.