Twitter saw its advertising revenues drop by nearly a quarter in the second quarter. Many large companies withdrew their advertisements in response to anti-racism protests and the corona crisis.
To reimburse for the loss of income, the messaging service is now exploring the option of paid subscriptions.
Unilever, LEGO, Coca-Cola and Starbucks, among others, said that they would no longer post advertisements on social networks this year.
As reasons, the companies cited “polarized American politics, racism and hate speech on social media.” Twitter’s second-quarter sales were $ 683 million, down 19 percent from the same period last year.
Over 80 percent of the firm’s revenue comes from advertising. That advertising income fell by 23 percent. The tech company also faced a tax setback of nearly $ 1.1 billion.
For example, Twitter came to a net loss of $ 1.2 billion. A year earlier, the company still earned $ 1.2 billion, at the time thanks to a tax windfall of more than $ 1 billion.
Due to declining advertising revenues, Twitter says it will investigate whether it can offer a platform on a subscription basis. Financial director Ned Segal emphasized on Thursday that ‘for the time being it is only about ideas’.
