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Brand Safety Is Over, Apparently
So News Is Going to Flourish, Right Marc and Elon?
If you want to understand where the zeitgeist is headed in Silicon Valley, you have to study The Information, the clubby, well-sourced favorite read of Valley oligarchs. The publication made its reputation by commanding lofty subscription prices back when nearly all tech news was free; it now enjoys multiple revenue streams, including advertising, events, and a “pro” version for $750-$999 a year. I’ve been a subscriber (of the “regular” variety) for years, and I probably always will be.
That said, every so often The Information runs a story that is so clearly aligned with the interests of the plutocracy it begs to be called out. “Advertisers Retreat From Social Media Policing” is its latest entry in this category. The piece opens with a stupendous straw man: “For several years, a favorite tactic of progressives agitating against social media and conservative news outlets has been pressuring marketers to pull their ads.”
Um, no. I’ve worked with countless brands on the issue of safety (we practically invented the concept at Federated by bringing ads to blogging), and to a one, advertisers are not concerned about “progressive agitation.” They’re concerned about their ads appearing next to hate speech, terrorism, or pornography (all of which are ascendant on X, for what it’s worth).
