\n<\/p>\n
Thursday on X (Twitter), all users saw the same pinned topic under the \u201cWhat\u2019s happening?\u201d sidebar. As part of a \u201ctimeline takeover<\/a>\u201d \u2014 which gives advertisers \u201cpriority access to logged-in users\u2019 first impression of the day\u201d \u2014 conservative media nonprofit PragerU is promoting the hashtag \u201c#DETRANS\u201d to advertise its new film about \u201cthe stories of detransitioners.\u201d<\/p>\n PragerU, which is not a university, aims to \u201cpreserve American ideals.\u201d The organization has been criticized<\/a> for doubting<\/a> climate change<\/a> and downplaying the realities of slavery.<\/a><\/p>\n \u201cPragerU has chosen X\/Twitter specifically for this campaign, as it is one of the least censored social media platforms,\u201d the organization wrote<\/a> in a press release. \u201cSince Elon Musk purchased X and removed restrictions previously placed by Twitter, detransitioners have been able to share their stories.\u201d<\/p>\n Image Credits:<\/strong> An example of how the advertisement appears on X<\/p>\n<\/div>\n The film purports to feature young people who sought gender affirming care, but now regret doing so. PragerU calls the short documentary its \u201cmost important\u201d video yet, but extensive research shows that detransitioning is incredibly uncommon. In a 2021 review of 27 studies, with almost 8,000 transgender patients, less than 1% of people<\/a> who underwent any type of gender-affirmation surgeries expressed regret.<\/p>\n In spite of research<\/a> indicating that these procedures<\/a> are often life-saving<\/a> and rarely result in regret, right-wing figures continue to drum up panic around gender-affirming care for LGBTQ+ people. In 2023 alone, state legislators have introduced over 400<\/a> anti-trans bills.<\/p>\n The PragerU campaign comes at a troubled time for X\u2019s ad business. X CEO Linda Yaccarino claims<\/a> that the company will be profitable by 2024, but other evidence shows that the platform\u2019s advertising business continues to suffer. Insider Intelligence estimates<\/a> that X will make $1.89 billion from ads this year, a 54% decrease from 2022. Reports from Similarweb, a market intelligence firm, show that X\u2019s traffic and monthly active users<\/a> have also declined.<\/p>\n PragerU said it spent $1 million<\/a> in total to promote the \u201cDETRANS\u201d documentary, a portion of which went toward its \u201ctimeline takeover\u201d on X. So, for a front-and-center, day-long ad placement, X is earning a maximum of 0.053% of its estimated annual advertising earnings.<\/p>\n Despite pushback from some users on X, the company confirmed that PragerU\u2019s advertisements do not violate platform guidelines.<\/p>\n The ad on X cannot be dismissed, even if a user has the advertiser PragerU\u2019s account blocked. Typically, ads on X can be reported, but this one cannot be flagged.<\/p>\n PragerU is also advertising its documentary on Meta and Google, albeit in a far less prominent placement. The organization claimed that it sought a similar \u201ctakeover\u201d ad placement on YouTube, which is part of Google, but was denied.<\/p>\n \u201cThe ads in question do not violate our ads policies and are currently running across our platforms,\u201d said Google spokesperson Michael Aciman. \u201cIn accordance with our YouTube ad requirements, since 2021, ads related to political topics are ineligible to run on the YouTube Masthead.\u201d<\/p>\n Since Musk\u2019s purchase of Twitter (now X), the platform has acted as a vehicle for his personal interests<\/a>. In the past, X has banned journalists<\/a> reporting on Musk, blocked links<\/a> to competitor platforms, changed platform policy to censor a bot<\/a> that published public information about his private jet and singled out news outlets like NPR<\/a> and The New York Times<\/a> with sanctions.<\/p>\n Musk has demonstrated a particular animus toward the LGBTQ+ community. Over the last year, Musk has repeatedly mocked transgender people, and even removed an old Twitter policy<\/a> that prohibited the targeted deadnaming or misgendering of transgender people. As recently as this week, Musk has posted that he believes the word \u201ccis\u201d is a \u201cheterosexual slur<\/a>,\u201d a personal position that reflects changes<\/a> made to the company\u2019s content moderation policies under his leadership.<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n