A record number of firms plan to cut advertising spending on X next year because of concerns that extreme content on the platform could damage their brands, dealing another blow to the financial fortunes of Elon Musk’s social media company, reports CNN.

According to CNN, a global survey by market research firm Kantar found that a net 26% of marketers plan to decrease their spending on X in 2025, the biggest recorded pullback from any major global ad platform. Only 4% of marketers overall think X ads provide “brand safety” — certainty that their ads won’t appear alongside extreme content — compared with 39% for Google ads, Kantar said in a report.

“Advertisers have been moving their marketing spend away from X for several years,” Gonca Bubani, Kantar’s global thought leadership director for media, said in a statement, adding that “a turnaround currently seems unlikely.”

“X has changed so much in recent years and can be unpredictable from one day to the next — it’s difficult to feel confident about your brand safety in that environment.”

Consumers, on the other hand, feel more positive about ads on X because there are fewer than there used to be, according to Kantar.

More here.