X CEO Says Platform Added 10M Users in December

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Facts

  • Linda Yaccarino, the CEO of X, formerly Twitter, announced Thursday that the platform has gained 10M new users this month. This comes after X's owner, Elon Musk, said in July that the company, which doesn't regularly release its data, had 540M monthly users.1
  • However, Yaccarino's announcement lacked any specific comparisons to the platform's typical monthly growth or how many of these new users were paying subscriptions. This comes amid an advertising boycott on X joined by companies including Apple, Disney, IBM, and Lions Gate Entertainment.2
  • The advertising boycott came after Musk's controversial posts regarding Jewish people and a row involving Media Matters. Musk has since sued Media Matters, and has publicly made emphatic — and profane — comments regarding advertisers.3
  • Other major brands that have stopped advertising on X were Coca-Cola, Jeep, Merck, and Unilever. CNN reported in September that half of the platform's top 1k advertisers had already decided to suspend advertising last January.4
  • The impact of new users has yet to be determined on X's financial outlook. The decrease in ad revenue is reportedly expected to result in a $75M loss by year's end according to a New York Times report.2

Sources: 1Reuters, 2Phoneworld, 3Al Jazeera and 4The morning news.

Narratives

  • Narrative A, as provided by Abc news. Musk was absolutely right when he called his recent Tweet a massive mistake. Not only did he push antisemitic propaganda to his millions of followers, but he gave even more advertisers a reason to stop spending on his financially depleting company. X has already lost 50% of advertising revenue since the billionaire acquired the company last year, and now he's losing the select few who still stood with him.
  • Narrative B, as provided by Guardian. No one can deny X's financial troubles, but that doesn't mean the platform is doomed. Whether you agree with him or not, Musk is a fighter for free speech. Even regarding his recent controversial post, billionaire investor Bill Ackman, who has led the fight against antisemitism on college campuses, called out the hypocrisy of other social media companies not facing boycotts despite displaying similar content on their respective platforms.

Predictions