US Adults Hold Dim Views of Brands That Advertise on Social Platforms with Objectionable Content

December 15, 2022

This article is included in these additional categories:

Advertising Trends | Brand Metrics | Brand-Related | Creative & Formats

Adults in the US are about 2.5 times more likely to want social media platforms’ content moderation policies to be stricter (41%) than looser (16%), according to survey results from Morning Consult, with these attitudes spilling over to how they feel about brands that advertise on platforms that have little to no content moderation (looking at you, Twitter).

There’s been an exodus of advertisers from Twitter (including, reportedly, Apple) since Elon Musk’s takeover and subsequent gutting of the platform’s content moderation teams. It seems as though the brands leaving Twitter ads behind are making the right move in the eyes of consumers.

Indeed, a majority of adults would hold unfavorable views of brands that advertise on social media platforms that harbor the type of content that has proliferated on Twitter since Musk’s reluctant purchase of the platform.

For example, 65% would have unfavorable views of brands that advertise on privately-owned platforms that have extremist content, and equal shares would hold unfavorable views of brands advertising on platforms that harbor hate speech, misinformation or conspiracy theories, or a large number of bots or fake accounts.

Some 51% said they would hold a negative view of brands that advertise on platforms with little or no content moderation policies, per the results. About 6 in 10 would have an unfavorable view towards brands advertising on platforms with mismanagement at the corporate level.

These attitudes carry over to purchase intent, also. Strongly majorities would be unlikely to purchase or would not even consider purchasing products from brands that advertise on platforms that have hate speech (72%), extremist content (71%), a large number of bots or fake users (65%), or misinformation or conspiracy theories (65%).

The results come amid an environment in which marketers forecast a more significant impact of brand safety on their marketing strategies in the year ahead. Separately, roughly 3 in 4 US digital marketers agree that ad buyers and sellers need to actively avoid misinformation, disinformation, and fake news.

For more, check out the full Morning Consult survey results here.

About the Data: The results are based on a November survey of 2,209 US adults.

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