X Promises Robust Brand-Safety Tools for Advertisers

X, the social media platform formerly known as Twitter, will continue rolling out brand-safety tools for advertisers.

The platform is committed to free expression while also protecting brands, X CEO Linda Yaccarino said during a live audio event held Thursday (Aug. 10) on X, The Wall Street Journal (WSJ) reported Thursday.

Brand-safety tools rolled out by X in recent months include a “keyword avoidance tool” that enables brands to better control the content their ads are appearing next to, and another tool now being tested that involves settings around sensitive content, according to the report.

“Think about it in terms of brand safety: I wrap a security blanket around you, my brand, my chief marketing officer, and say your ads will only air next to content that is appropriate for you, of your choice,” Yaccarino said during Thursday’s live event, per the report.

Advertisers have responded positively to these efforts, with some returning to the platform after having left after its purchase by Elon Musk, according to the report.

Musk said in tweets in July that the platform has seen an almost 50% drop in ad revenue that — coupled with its debt load — has left it cash flow negative.

About a month earlier, in May, The New York Times reported that in the five weeks from April 1 to the first week of May, the social media platform’s ad revenue decreased 59% from the same period a year earlier.

Some advertisers are more hopeful than before because of the addition of Yaccarino as the company’s CEO. Because she was previously NBCUniversal’s head of advertising, some advertisers believe Yaccarino is a “known quantity” who understands brands and their desire for stability and content moderation.

X will also keep an eye on its competitors, such as Threads from Meta Platforms, but the app X is building with Musk will be “an entirely different road map,” Yaccarino said later Thursday during an interview with CNBC, per the WSJ report.

Last year, just before closing the deal to purchase Twitter, Musk tweeted that buying the company was “an accelerant to creating X, the everything app.”