Cossette, which is the government’s “media agency of record,” issued instructions on Friday to “cease operations immediately and monitor the situation over the weekend” due to “unknown follow-up plans for moderation” and an “increased risk to its security brand,” according to an internal document seen by CBC News. Cossette assists with “media planning and strategy, media buying, ad serving and ad serving, ad verification, reporting and reconciliation services in support of a variety of government initiatives.” It works with many government departments and agencies. Twitter recently laid off 50% of its staff following a takeover by Elon Musk, who, as head of electric vehicle maker Tesla and rocket company SpaceX, has become the world’s richest man. Twitter’s head of security and integrity, Joel Roth, tweeted Friday that only 15 percent of the team responsible for moderation and security was affected, and “our core moderation capabilities remain in place.” Musk similarly stated that “the strong commitment to content control remains absolutely unchanged.” Twitter did not respond to a request for comment from CBC News. Cossette’s guidance said the layoffs prompted heightened concern about the effectiveness of Twitter’s moderation and brand safety — essentially meaning that advertising placed next to content does not negatively impact the advertiser’s reputation. Cosset also noted that the US midterm elections will be held on Tuesday, resulting in “a lot of focus on the platform for abuse.” The federal government spent more than $3 million on Twitter ads through Cossette from 2020 to 2021, according to its most recent annual report. As early voting gets underway in the US, our election integrity efforts — including combating harmful disinformation that can suppress voting and state-sponsored information operations — remain a top priority. —@yoyoel Many large companies have stopped advertising on Twitter, including General Mills, General Motors, Pfizer and Volkswagen. Musk responded by calling out what he described as “activist groups” who are pressuring advertisers to leave Twitter, accusing them of “trying to destroy free speech in America.” Musk said Twitter has already experienced a “massive drop in revenue,” after claiming the layoffs were necessary because Twitter was losing $4 million a day. Public Services and Procurement Canada has not yet responded to a request for comment from CBC News.
