Nissan, Cadbury’s and Diageo urged to avoid ‘toxic’ Twitter

NISSAN, Cadbury’s and Guinnessbrewer Diageo have been told to avoid “dangerous” and “toxic” Twitter by their marketing agency, as an advertising boycott of the company under Elon Musk gathers pace.

Tamara Littleton, chief executive of The Social Element, said she had told her clients to suspend advertising on Twitter after widespread redundancies and resignations gutted the company’s content moderation teams. “With the sackings and the resignations, in brand protection and moderation, it is just a little bit too toxic,” Ms Littleton told The Daily Telegraph.

Her advice to clients was to “monitor what’s going on, monitor for brand protection issues – you know, your logo being used, or name being [misused] – slow down on proactive engagement, pause paid advertising, but don’t step off the platform completely”.

The Social Element works with clients including Cadbury’s owner Mondelez, Nissan and fizzy drink maker Dr Pepper, advising them on social media marketing campaigns.

Diageo, another client, confirmed it is keeping its brands active on Twitter but did not say whether it had suspended advertising. Nissan UK and Mondelez did not respond to requests for comment.

Companies including Volkswagen, Pfizer and Cheerios maker General Mills have all halted campaigns on Twitter since Mr Musk’s $44bn (£37bn) takeover in October. The growing boycott comes amid concerns about misinformation and impersonation on Twitter.

Mr Musk dismissed 3,700 staff, including members of moderation teams who delete prohibited and illegal content from the site, immediately after taking control of the company.

“It’s a dangerous place because there aren’t the people in charge looking after the measures that help with brand protection,” said Ms Littleton.