Twitter will make over £15million a year from ads on just 10 ‘toxic’ accounts recovered by Elon Musk, according to a report.
The profiles – including Andrew Tate, neo-Nazis and prominent anti-vaccination figures – had previously been banned for posting hateful content and dangerous conspiracies.
But they were restored in November after the social media giant’s billionaire new owner granted them an amnesty in the name of freedom of expression.
A report by the Center for Countering Digital Hate (CCDH) has revealed that Twitter will generate millions of pounds in ad revenue from just 10 high profile recovered accounts.
They include Andrew Anglin, a neo-Nazi who founded the Daily Stormer website campaigning for a second genocide of Jews, and Ronnie Steven Islam, one of the most influential online anti-vaccination opponents.
Musk has announced he will grant a reprieve to accounts that have not “broke the law or engaged in egregious spam” as part of a pledge to increase freedom of speech on the site
Twitter is reportedly in the process of recovering around 62,000 suspended accounts, each with more than 10,000 followers
Hundreds of global brands have halted or halted their advertising on Twitter altogether following the Musk acquisition due to brand safety concerns.
Twitter accounts that have already been “unblocked”.
– Donald Trump
– Kanye West
– Andrew Tate
-Jordan Peterson
– Majorie Taylor Green
However, the report revealed that tech giants like Amazon and Apple were still advertising on the site – and “now surfacing alongside hate and misinformation from the recovered accounts”.
In one example, an Amazon Prime Video ad appeared alongside a tweet from neo-Nazi Andrew Anglin, in which he claims that the “only career a woman is actually capable of on the strength of her merits is prostitution.”
Imran Ahmed, executive director of the CCD, said: “Our research shows that there’s a depressingly mundane answer to why Elon Musk would reinstate the accounts of avowed Nazis, disinformation actors, misogynists and homophobes – it’s highly profitable.”
He added: “We are calling on the world’s leading brands to show leadership, stop their Twitter advertising immediately, and stop directly funding hate and misinformation.”
The CCDH report revealed that the 10 accounts have collectively received 2.5 billion tweet impressions over the past seven weeks, in other words, the amount they have appeared on timelines.
Twitter will make over £15million a year from ads on just 10 ‘toxic’ accounts recovered by Elon Musk, according to a report. The profiles belong to Andrew Tate (pictured), neo-Nazis and prominent anti-vaccination figures
In addition, an ad appeared every 6.7 tweets on average.
Twitter is estimated to charge just over £5 per 1,000 tweet impressions, meaning it’s likely to make just over £15.7m each year from the views generated by the accounts.
According to another report released last year, Twitter recovered around 62,000 suspended accounts, each with more than 10,000 followers.
That total includes one Twitter account with more than 5 million followers and 75 accounts with more than 1 million followers, Platformer found.
Musk said in November he would grant a reprieve to accounts that have not “broke the law or engaged in egregious spam” as part of a pledge to increase freedom of speech on the site.
He said the goal is “a trusted digital town square” where a wide range of views are tolerated “provided people don’t break the law or spam”.
He conducted a Twitter poll that asked, “Should Twitter offer a general amnesty to banned accounts provided they haven’t broken the law or engaged in egregious spam?”
Among those who have already been unbanned on Twitter is Donald Trump (pictured), although the former US President has not used the platform again since booting in 2021
The poll received more than three million votes, with 72.4 percent voting yes.
Following the results, Musk tweeted “Vox Populi, Vox Dei” — a Latin phrase meaning “voice of the people” — adding, “The people have spoken. Amnesty begins next week.’
One account that has been unbanned is @realDonaldTrump, although the former US President has yet to use it again.
Trump was banned for inciting violence ahead of the January 6 attack on the US Capitol last year.
Trump said he will stick with his new platform, Truth Social, which has better user retention than Twitter and is doing “phenomenally well.”
10 “TOXIC” ACCOUNTS TWITTER MAKES MONEY
● Andrew Tate, the influencer and former kickboxer known for posting extremely misogynist videos. He has said rape victims have “some responsibility” for being raped and that he would threaten women who accuse him of cheating with a machete.
● Robert Malone, a doctor who has built a following by spreading falsehoods about Covid vaccines while claiming to have played a key role in their development. He has claimed that the “science is settled” that Covid vaccines “do not work”.
● Andrew Anglin, an American neo-Nazi who founded the Daily Stormer website, which takes its name from the Nazi propaganda paper Der Stürmer.
● Gateway Pundit, an online media outlet notorious for spreading disinformation, including claims of vote-rigging, climate denial and Covid misinformation.
● Emerald Robinson, the former Newsmax reporter who was fired and suspended from Twitter in 2021 for claiming the Covid vaccine contained a satanic marker.
● Rogan O’Handley, a former Hollywood entertainment attorney-turned-far-right conspiracy theorist, has been criticized for fanning the flames of vaccine conspiracies after NFL athlete Damar Hamlin’s heart attack.
● Peter McCullough, a doctor known for spreading misinformation about Covid. He has claimed that health officials withheld treatments for Covid in the early days of the pandemic to spread fear and urge people to take a vaccine.
● Stew Peters, a former bounty hunter who produced the film Died Suddenly, which makes false claims about Covid vaccines.
● Ronnie Steven Islam, known as “Rizza” Islam, is an internet personality who regularly posts anti-Semitic, anti-LGBTQ+ and anti-vaccine rhetoric. He was named in CCDH’s “Disinformation Dozen,” which lists 12 of the most influential online opponents of vaccination.
● Anthime Gionet, known as Baked Alaska, is a white supremacist internet personality who attended the 2017 Unite the Right rally and was convicted for his role in the Capitol riot