A media and marketing agency that is responsible for buying and planning much of the government’s advertising has advised federal departments to freeze activity on Twitter, citing mass layoffs at the company.
Cossette, which is the government’s “media agency of record,” issued instructions on Friday to “immediately cease activity and monitor the situation over the weekend” due to “unknown continuity plans for moderation” and a “risk of increased brand safety,” according to an internal document seen by CBC News.
Cossette assists with “media planning and strategy, media buying, ad serving and traffic, ad verification, reporting and reconciliation services, to support a variety of government initiatives.” He works with numerous government agencies and departments.
Twitter recently laid off 50 percent of its staff following a takeover by Elon Musk, who, as head of electric vehicle maker Tesla and rocket company SpaceX, has become the world’s richest man.
Twitter’s head of security and integrity, Yoel Roth, tweeted Friday that only 15 percent of the team responsible for moderation and security was affected and “our core moderation capabilities remain in place.”
Musk similarly stated that “the strong commitment to content moderation remains absolutely unchanged.” Twitter did not respond to a request for comment from CBC News.
Cossette’s guidance said the layoffs prompted growing concern about the effectiveness of Twitter’s moderation and brand safety — which essentially means making sure ads placed next to content don’t negatively impact the advertiser’s reputation.
Cossette also noted that the US midterm elections will be held on Tuesday, resulting in “a lot of focus on the platform for abuse.”
The federal government spent over $3 million on Twitter advertising through Cossette from 2020 to 2021, according to its most recent annual report.
As early voting unfolds in the US, our election integrity efforts – including harmful disinformation that can suppress voting and combating state-sponsored information operations – remain a top priority.
Many major companies have banned advertising on Twitter, including General Mills, General Motors, Pfizer and Volkswagen.
Musk has responded by calling out what he described as “activist groups” that are pressuring advertisers to ditch Twitter, accusing them of “trying to destroy free speech in America.”
Musk has said Twitter has already experienced a “massive drop in revenue,” after claiming the layoffs were necessary because Twitter was losing $4 million a day.
Public Services and Procurement Canada has not yet responded to a request for comment from CBC News.
