At Least 30 Brands Lambast Twitter Ads Soliciting Child Abuse Content

Joseph Henry, Tech Times 29 September 2022, 10:09 am

Twitter ads on the platform are reportedly showing up next to child porn accounts.

Over 30 advertisers have suspended their marketing campaign to teach the microblogging site some lessons when it comes to this malicious promotion.

Twitter Ads Appear Alongside Child Porn Tweets

(Photo : Edgar Moran from Unsplash)
Twitter is allowing explicit content to appear adjacent to ads from popular companies.

According to a report by Reuters on Wednesday, Sept. 8, several brands like Mazda, Coca-Cola, Disney, Forbes, and PBS Kids have pulled out their advertisements on Twitter after discovering the presence of accounts promoting exploitative content about child sex abuse.

Cybersecurity firm Ghost Data has revealed in its research that explicit terms such as "teens" and "rape" are popping up together with advertisements from known brands.

Reuters found out that, for instance, a Cole Haan ad shows up next to a tweet that discusses potential trade for "child content."

According to the brand president David Maddocks, the company is horrified by the situation. He said that Twitter needs to fix this issue or they won't buy Twitter ads anymore.

Even a children's hospital in Texas has an ad posted beside a tweet that reads, "Yung girls ONLY, NO Boys." When asked about this matter, Scottish Rite Children's Hospital did not comment.

Twitter's Zero Tolerance For Child Sexual Exploitation

On the official help page of Twitter, it was stated there that the platform has "zero tolerance" towards any content which solicits child sex abuse.

The social media giant noted that promoting a tweet or content about child sexual exploitation is one of the "most serious" violations under Twitter Rules.

Twitter added that it could come in the form of a picture, video, or even computer-generated images. Any user who posts a link or shares such content is subject to a corresponding punishment as stated in the policy.

According to the Independent, Celeste Carswell, a Twitter spokesperson, said that the company is currently investing more resources to combat child sexual exploitation on the platform.

She continued that the organization is now keeping in touch with its partners to launch a probe regarding this problem. Twitter wants to address this issue seriously so it won't happen again in the near future.

Speaking of malicious accounts, Ghost Data noted that over 500 Twitter accounts are sharing content about child porn. This took place more than 20 days back in August.

Last year, Twitter suspended over one million accounts promoting child sexual exploitation.

A Mazda spokesperson said this online content should not thrive on Twitter. Meanwhile, a Disney representative said the platform should further enhance its service to prevent these things from happening.

This article is owned by Tech Times

Written by Joseph Henry