Elon Musk’s X to Brands: Advertise With Us or We’ll Sue

Summary

WSJ Tech News Briefing: Elon Musk’s X to Brands: Advertise With Us or We’ll Sue
Release Date: June 13, 2025

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Introduction

In this episode of the WSJ Tech News Briefing, hosted by Victoria Craig, the spotlight is on Elon Musk's aggressive campaign to retain and attract advertisers to his social media platform, X (formerly known as Twitter). The episode delves into the strategies employed by X to strong-arm brands into continuing their advertising investments, the legal ramifications of these tactics, and the broader implications for the advertising industry.

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Elon Musk’s Pressure Campaign on Advertisers

Victoria Craig opens the discussion by highlighting the recent pressure campaign initiated by Elon Musk aimed at compelling advertisers to increase their spending on X. She notes the involvement of major companies such as Verizon, Amazon, Unilever, and Pinterest, which received threatening messages demanding continued ad investment or face legal action.

“Give us your ad business or we’ll sue you.”
— Victoria Craig (00:19)

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Exodus of Advertisers and Declining Revenue

Suzanne Vernica, WSJ's advertising editor, provides an in-depth analysis of the situation. Following Musk's acquisition of Twitter in 2022, the platform experienced a significant exodus of advertisers, leading to a 50% drop in revenue—a critical blow since advertising constitutes the lion's share of X's income.

“After Elon Musk took over Twitter at the time in 2022, there was a massive exodus of clients... revenue down like 50%.”
— Suzanne Vernica (01:35)

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Tactics Employed by X to Retain Advertisers

Suzanne discusses the various tactics X has employed over the past two years to persuade advertisers to return, including legal threats and leveraging relationships with advertising vendors.

“They’ve ramped up the pressure on Madison Avenue and advertisers... used threats demanding that they return to the platform or they end up being sued.”
— Suzanne Vernica (03:12)

Despite these efforts, success has been limited, prompting X to adopt increasingly aggressive measures.

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Legal Battle: Allegations of Collusion

A significant part of the episode focuses on X's lawsuit against advertisers and a trade group, accusing them of colluding to illegally boycott the platform, thereby violating antitrust laws.

“...they were really motivated by a desire not to be associated with X and what was happening on that platform, then that's unlikely to be an antitrust violation.”
— Suzanne Vernica (04:49)

Legal experts interviewed by Suzanne express skepticism about the strength of X's claims, noting that proving such collusion in court would be challenging.

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Current Status of the Lawsuit

The lawsuit is ongoing, with X recently adding seven new advertisers to the complaint. The case has not yet proceeded to court, and its outcome remains uncertain.

“It's still in the process, and we're a ways off from where this actually gets to court.”
— Suzanne Vernica (04:39)

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Advertisers' Response to Content Moderation Concerns

Another critical issue driving advertiser withdrawal is the concern over content moderation and the prevalence of unsafe content on X since Musk's takeover. X has attempted to address these concerns by introducing new ad technology tools that allow advertisers to block certain keywords and control the placement of their ads.

“They've instituted a bunch of new ad technology tools... your ads, you know, don't have to appear near content that has those words.”
— Suzanne Vernica (05:05)

However, despite these measures, advertisers remain hesitant. Suzanne compares the current situation to a similar boycott faced by Facebook, where advertisers eventually returned after realizing the financial impact of their absence.

“It's even tougher now because we're facing economic headwinds... clients aren't just spending money on every platform.”
— Suzanne Vernica (06:19)

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Economic Context and Future Prospects

The struggle to bring advertisers back is compounded by broader economic challenges, making advertisers more cautious about where they allocate their budgets. This environment makes X's task of reclaiming lost ad revenue even more daunting.

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Additional Segment: Email Security Tips

In a separate segment after the main discussion on X and advertising, Heidi Mitchell, a WSJ writer, provides valuable insights into email security, particularly concerning unsubscribe links in emails.

Key Points:

• Risk of Malicious Links: One in every 644 clicks on unsubscribe links can lead to malicious websites.

  “One in every 644 clicks on them leads to a potentially malicious website.”
  — Victoria Craig (07:18)

• Distinguishing Safe from Malicious Links: Legitimate companies require an unsubscribe option, but unsolicited emails from unknown sources may contain harmful links intended to verify active emails or steal credentials.

  “If you don't like your inbox being flooded, you can send that kind of email to spam filter for it...”
  — Heidi Mitchell (08:52)

• Best Practices for Consumers:

  • Ignore suspicious unsubscribe links.
  • Use separate email addresses for subscriptions.
  • Leverage tools like Apple’s Hide My Email or browser extensions to manage and protect your email identity.

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Conclusion

The episode offers a comprehensive look into Elon Musk's strategies to stabilize X's advertising revenue amid significant advertiser departures and declining platform revenue. While X employs aggressive tactics and legal threats to retain and attract advertisers, the challenges remain substantial due to content moderation concerns and economic uncertainties. Additionally, the episode provides practical advice on email security, underscoring the broader theme of trust and safety in the digital landscape.

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Notable Quotes:

• “Give us your ad business or we’ll sue you.”
  — Victoria Craig (00:19)

• “After Elon Musk took over Twitter... revenue down like 50%.”
  — Suzanne Vernica (01:35)

• “They’ve ramped up the pressure on Madison Avenue and advertisers...”
  — Suzanne Vernica (03:12)

• “If you don’t like your inbox being flooded, you can send that kind of email to spam filter for it.”
  — Heidi Mitchell (08:52)

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Attributions:

• Victoria Craig – Host, The Wall Street Journal
• Suzanne Vernica – WSJ Advertising Editor
• Heidi Mitchell – Intern Writer, WSJ

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This detailed summary encapsulates the key discussions, insights, and conclusions from the episode, providing a comprehensive overview for listeners and those who have not tuned in.

Transcript

[Hrithika Gunner]

As companies create AI powered solutions, how can they ensure they're effective and trustworthy? Join IBM at the break to hear how companies can build trust in their AI with Hrithika Ghanar, IBM's general manager for data and AI.

[Victoria Craig]

Welcome to Tech News Briefing. It's Friday, June 13th. I'm Victoria Craig for the Wall Street Journal. Give us your ad business or we'll sue you. Today we're going inside a pressure campaign by Elon Musk's aimed at strong arming advertisers to spend more money on the platform. Then before you click that unsubscribe button from an annoying email you didn't sign up for, you'll want to hear how that simple click can actually make you a bigger target for scammers. But first, late last year, companies including Verizon and Ralph Lauren received unusual messages from a company that wanted them to do business with it. Spend your ad dollars with us or we'll see you in court. The threat, in at least some cases, worked and allowed Elon Musk's social media platform X to secure millions of dollars in ad spending. WSJ advertising editor Suzanne Vernica and her colleagues spoke to more than two dozen people familiar with discussions like these, and she takes us inside the campaign to strong arm X advertisers that fled the platform. Suzanne, walk us through why X was so adamant about getting advertisers to stick around and the tactics the company used to make sure that happen happened.

[Suzanne Vernica]

So after Elon Musk took over Twitter at the time in 2022, there was a massive exodus of clients. Brands across the country worried about the loosened content moderations that were taking place. But there were other factors as well, including uncertainty because there was so many executives departing, especially top ad executives. So the exodus was massive and you're talking revenue down like 50%. And revenue for X, the platform's now called, is key because it's the lion's share of the money they make. So they're doing anything they can to get advertisers to return, and they've been at it for two years and finding very little success. So they've ramped up the pressure on Madison Avenue and advertisers. Last year, they sued a bunch of advertisers and a trade group claiming that they all colluded to illegally boycott the site, which violated antitrust laws. And more recently, they actually decided to go on an even more aggressive pressure campaign and decided to start strong arming some brands to return and basically used threats demanding that they return to the platform or they end up being sued.

[Victoria Craig]

And, Suzanne, did you reach out to X to see what they had to say about this?

[Suzanne Vernica]

The Journal reached out to X, Elon Musk, and Linda Yaccarino for comment, but they didn't return calls. And a spokesman for X declined to comment for our piece.

[Victoria Craig]

And when we think about the companies that are involved in this, it's not small companies across the country. These are big names like Verizon, Amazon, Unilever, Pinterest. It seems in your story, these different tactics really caught them off guard.

[Suzanne Vernica]

Companies reacted differently to the threat. Some went back and some decided, you know what? We're not going back, and have now been added to the lawsuit. So there's other pressure tactics that they're also doing, you know, leveraging vendors that they work with. And those vendors are obviously advertisers, so leaning on them to make sure that they spend money on X, all in the name of trying to resuscitate their business.

[Victoria Craig]

I want to dig into the lawsuit that's behind this pressure campaign a little bit more. What do lawyers you've spoken to say about X's claims that the advertisers colluded to boycott the platform?

[Suzanne Vernica]

Although this is the claim that X is making, the advertisers and the ad trade group that's at the heart of this basically say they did not collude and they acted independently when deciding whether or not to make changes to their advertising on X. Lawyers that we've talked to said, look, an antitrust claim is going to be a really hard bar to make because it's one thing to say, you know, they boycotted X because they wanted lower rates. In this case, if advertisers were really motivated by a desire not to be associated with X and what was happening on that platform, then that's unlikely to be an antitrust violation. Obviously, the courts are all going to decide this, but right now, that's the thing that everybody's faced with. Like, how much does this court case, does it have legs? Where is it gonna go?

[Victoria Craig]

And what is the status of the court case at this point?

[Suzanne Vernica]

A couple months ago, X added seven new advertisers. They amended the complaint, listing a whole bunch of new ones. So it's still in the process, and we're a ways off from where this actually gets to court.

[Victoria Craig]

And some companies that pulled advertising, as you mentioned, were concerned about content moderation and unsafe content after Elon Musk took over X, which was then known as Twitter. What has X done to alleviate those concern?

[Suzanne Vernica]

Epps has worked overtime to try and appease them. They've instituted a bunch of new ad technology tools. For instance, you can have a list that basically has keyword blocking, and your ads, you know, don't have to appear near content that has those words. But at the end of the day, the one thing that people lose sight of is for an advertiser making a decision, there's so many places to spend their money today. Twitter X it was never a must buy. It was always down the list. And so when an advertiser is looking at this, they look and say, do they really want to risk that? And I would point out that there was, you know, the massive boycott that happened on Facebook a couple of years ago. Advertisers came off of Facebook for basically a month, basically because they were worried about the misinformation and things that were happening on that platform. Advertisers couldn't wait to return to that platform. They ran back. And why is because their businesses suffered because of it. So many would argue if it really worked that well, they would go back. It's even tougher now because we're facing economic headwinds. So the fight to claw them back is also in an environment where economically there's worries and clients aren't just spending money on every platform.

[Victoria Craig]

That was Suzanne Vernica, WSJ's advertising editor. Coming up, the unsubscribe button, the safe bet to try and combat an overstuffed inbox might not be as secure as you thought. We'll tell you why and what to do instead after the break. Foreign.

[Hrithika Gunner]

Enterprise AI is an unstructured data problem at scale. How does generative AI address it? Hrithika Gunner, general manager for data and AI at IBM, explains.

[Heidi Mitchell]

Think of this as emails PDF PowerPoint decks that sit in an organization. Generative AI has allowed us to unlock the opportunity to be able to take the 90% of data that is buried in unstructured formats, which really unlocks a new level of driving data and insights of that data into your workflows, into your applications, which is essential for organizations as we go forward.

[Victoria Craig]

Here's a fact for you about those unsubscribe links at the bottom of emails. One in every 644 clicks on them leads to a potentially malicious website. That's according to security service DNS filter. And if that information made you groan, it made me do the same. Because to me that seemed like one of the last bastions of safety. On the intern Writer Heidi Mitchell, though, reports that harmless looking unsubscribe button could carry risk. Heidi, what kind of emails with scammy unsubscribe buttons are we talking about? Are these emails from a brand that you've actually given your address to, or are they from a bad actor who's sending you to a bad link? How exactly does that work?

[Heidi Mitchell]

So there's a few things. Firstly, let's just note that if it's a real company, they do have to put that click here to unsubscribe function at the bottom. And if you trust that company, you've done business with them, it's probably fine. Then your email provider often has a hyperlinked. They call it a list unsubscribe header. So it'll say unsubscribe and it's blue and hyperlinked. If you click on that, that's also safe because it's created by your email provider. But what the bad actors are trying to do are a couple of things. If they have a click here to unsubscribe link at the bottom and it's from some company that you don't know, one thing they're just trying to do is getting you to click through just to see that you're somebody who engages with email, that this is a live email, and that in the future will make the sale, the legal sale, maybe even of your email address, more valuable because you're somebody that responds to things.

[Victoria Craig]

It's essentially, if you get an email from a brand you don't recognize or it's not a known entity, is that how you know whether these links are malicious? Is that the best sort of gauge?

[Heidi Mitchell]

Unfortunately, it isn't the best gauge because your identity and your data is being sold all over the place, totally legally. So you may buy something from one retailer and then your email gets put on the list and it gets sold in bulk to marketers, and then they buy it and then they send you these. I'm sure you get many of these a day, and they're not all malicious. But if they are, or even if they're not, again, the first thing they're trying to do is to see if you respond to this email. So not responding, ignoring it, is a good option. If you don't like your inbox being flooded, you can send that kind of email to spam filter for it and that will alleviate the problem. The second thing they're trying to get you to do is to send you out to the web where you're no longer safe. And these are bad actors. And the link that they're providing you to. It might look legitimate, but if you like really analyze the URL bar, it's not. And there they might ask you to fill in your login credentials for your Google account or your Microsoft. That is a huge red flag. There's no reason why you should be filling in your login credentials to unsubscribe. If it's a legitimate company or it looks like one, you can just go to the website yourself in a totally different window and then change your communication settings and you'll no longer get in their list. Supposedly.

[Victoria Craig]

I have set up my own shopping email, basically to try to avoid the deluge of emails from brands that we get all the time. And it is fascinating how often these marketers send you emails. So you've given us a few tips how we can avoid this potential problem. But is there anything else that consumers should know about what to watch for or how to make sure they don't fall victim to this kind of scam?

[Heidi Mitchell]

The first thing you should do is keep all of your apps and everything on your computer up to date, your operating system, especially your search engines. Because if there's a vulnerability in there that hasn't been caught, unlikely. But that's a really good way to get targeted by bad actors. And then all kinds of bad things can happen. Another thing that you can do is what you do, which is create an email that you use only for subscribing to coupons and lists and getting deals. Sometimes it's like on Instagram, it'll say like, put in your email address here and then we'll send you 10% off. And then if you do end up getting spammed from it, you just kill it. And then you don't use that at all. And then Apple and actually Chrome and Firefox too, but Apple has a hide my email feature that's baked into their email, so it creates these random unique email addresses and then it automatically forwards it to you so you don't even see it. And then you're not getting inundated with these emails. And Chrome and Firefox have extensions that you can download that will do the same thing.

[Victoria Craig]

That was writer Heidi Mitchell. And that's it for Tech News Briefing. Today's show was produced by Julie Chang. I'm your host, Victoria Craig. Additional support this week from Melanie Roy, Jessica Fenton and Michael Lavalle wrote our theme music. Our development producer is Aisha Al Muslim. Scott Salloway and Chris Inslee are the deputy editors, and Falana Patterson is the Wall Street Journal's head of news audio. We'll be back this afternoon with TNB Tech Minute. Thanks for listening.

[Hrithika Gunner]

How can companies build AI they can trust? Here again is Hrithika Gunner, General Manager for Data and AI at IBM.

[Heidi Mitchell]

A lot of organizations have thousands of flowers of generative AI projects booming. Understanding what is being used and how is the first step. Then it is about really understanding what kind of policy enforcement do you want to have on the right guardrails on privacy enforcement. The third piece is continually modifying and updating so that you have robust guardrails for safety and security. So as organizations have not only a process but the technology to be able to handle AI governance, we end up seeing a flywheel effect of more AI that is actually built and infused into applications, which then yields a better, more engaging, innovative set of capabilities within these companies.

[Hrithika Gunner]

Visit IBM.com to learn how to define your AI data strategy.

[Suzanne Vernica]

Custom Content from WSJ is a unit of the Wall Street Journal advertising department. The Wall Street Journal News Organization was not involved in the creation of this content.