Elon Musk’s X starts showing clickbait ads that cannot be blocked

Elon Musk-owned social media giant X (formerly Twitter) is testing a new clickbaity ad format that cannot be blocked or reported.

While normal ads on X carry an “ad” label, the new unspecified ads on the platform appear in the user’s “For You” feed, currently on the company’s mobile app, and redirect them to a third-party site when they try to click on them, reminiscent of the experience offered by low-quality clickbait sites, Mashable reported.

Ad woes for Twitter/X:

X has been struggling with ad revenue since Musk took over the company last year, with half of its biggest advertisers leaving the platform shortly after. Moreover, a new report from Media Matters shows that the advertisers who have since returned are spending up to 90 per cent less than before.

A Reuters report also found that the X’s ad revenue has fallen by at least 55% year-on-year since the billionaire took over the social media giant in October last year.

Musk has previously acknowledged that the social media platform has faced declining ad revenue due to pressure from activists. Last month, Musk blamed the Anti-Defamation League for a 60 per cent drop in the company’s ad revenue.

Also Read| Elon Musk plans to have three subscription tiers for X. Here’s what you should know

Speaking at Vox Media’s Code conference last week, X CEO Linda Yaccarino said the platform had seen the return of around 1,500 brands in the past 12 weeks, while 90% of the company’s top advertisers had also returned.

X starts testing new subscription model:

A recent Bloomberg report had revealed that X is testing a new subscription feature that can limit the number of ads shown to users. CEO Linda Yaccarino had also confirmed in a meeting with X’s debtors that the company would be rolling out 3 tiers of subscriptions for users, allowing it to generate more revenue from users who were unlikely to pay the full price of the premium subscription.

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Updated: 08 Oct 2023, 07:16 AM IST