Ever since Elon Musk launched X, the platform formerly known as Twitter, it has been dogged with controversy. And for good reason, too, because in November 2023, Media Matters found that some of the biggest brands, like Amazon, the NBA, and NBCUniversal, had their ads placed side by side with neo-Nazi content creators.
Naturally, brands weren’t too happy about this, and many of them ended up pulling their ads from said platform. This, in turn, escalated into a whole legal issue between Musk and Media Matters. Creators also noticed unusual ads were appearing next to their videos, speculating this was because of the advertiser exodus.
But instead of just not platforming Nazis, and de-monetizing these white supremacists, Musk decided that the most logical course of action is to introduce a new tool to X known as ‘Creator Targeting.’ (Well, that and begging MrBeast to post on the platform.)
“With the diversity of perspectives on X expanding, we are enabling a new opportunity for advertisers to connect to their customers by aligning with some of the world’s best content creators,” a Feb. 12 blog post by X reads.
The ‘Creator Targeting’ X blog then went on to explain how, through using X’s self-serve Ad Manager, advertisers will soon be able to run pre-roll video ads against selected creators’ content.
Soon, advertisers will also be able to serve ads exclusively on individual creator profiles. X adds that this will limit “unwanted adjacencies while aligning your brand to creators you love most.”
But will this be enough to restore advertisers’ trust in the platform? Given how fake news and hate speech continue to run rampant and unchecked under Musk’s leadership, we doubt that somehow.
Are you a creator impacted by the new X Creator Targeting feature? Email [email protected] to share your information.
