X appears to be rolling out a new mobile ad format that can't be reported or blocked, lacks an ad label and user profile, and doesn't disclose the advertiser

The new ads also don't disclose who the advertiser is or that they are even ads. — X, the Elon Musk-owned platform formerly known as Twitter …

Mashable 2023-10-07 Matt Binder

Context & Ripple Effects

This report extends a recent pattern: X had already been showing ads in Following feeds without a visible “Ad” label. It also echoes an earlier Twitter-era concern that promotions could be detached from identifiable accounts, enabling obscured sponsorship behind policy ads.

The reported mobile format would take that opacity further by combining no visible ad label or advertiser identity with no apparent reporting or blocking controls. That makes the change consequential not just as an ad-unit experiment, but as a change to users’ ability to identify and manage paid content.

First-order effects

X users encountering the format would have less immediate ability to distinguish paid material from ordinary posts, identify its sponsor, or remove it through reporting and blocking.
Advertisers using the format could gain a less visibly commercial placement, while X assumes greater responsibility for the transparency and safety controls embedded in the ad product.

Second-order effects

Brands and agencies may need to weigh any performance benefit against brand-safety and disclosure risk, particularly if audiences perceive the placements as deceptive.
The move increases pressure on X’s ad-review and policy systems: when users cannot flag or block an ad, platform-operated detection and advertiser vetting become more important.

Third-order effects

If opaque ad formats become durable, social advertising could shift further toward platform-controlled disclosure and recourse rather than user-visible signals and user moderation tools.
The pattern may sharpen scrutiny of whether ad transparency rules and platform policies adequately cover placements that resemble regular content; the corpus does not establish what enforcement, if any, will follow.

The trend: This is one data point in social platforms’ growing use of interface design to control how visible advertising, sponsorship, and user recourse are.

Discussion

@mossbergwalt Walt Mossberg on threads
The reason to quit Twitter (X) isn't that it's apparently collapsing financially, or killing important features. It's a moral and ethical issue. Not only are Nazis, racists, antisemites, misogynists, liars and conspiracy theorists being welcomed back, but the owner seems to be …
@malwaretech Marcus Hutchins on threads
It's really interesting to see how the leadership manipulates metrics to make a failing platform look like it's at an all time high. Changing how they count active users, pushing new engagement metrics, focusing on number of advertisers instead of ad spend. …
@itsedsilha Edward Silha on threads
Oh my god. When Linda Yaccarino said that Visa was a “returning advertiser” she meant the company spent $10 on Twitter ads in the last 12 weeks. Not ten million. Not ten thousand. TEN DOLLARS 🤣😂
@mossbergwalt Walt Mossberg on threads
And, should @meta allow @threads to turn into something resembling Twitter, I'll be gone from here too. @mosseri
@mossbergwalt Walt Mossberg on threads
I'm on multiple products. I know Zuckerberg. We've disagreed in private and in public, mainly over privacy. So I am in no way “ignorant” about him. I'm sure he's not my biggest fan. But if you think he's at the level of Elon Musk, you're dreaming. Zuckerberg's big problems,…
@carnage4life Dare Obasanjo on threads
This is the kind of product you build when your entire FTC consent decree compliance team quit a year ago.
@mark.benl Mark Levine on threads
When they inevitably introduce ads here, I really hope Meta does it responsibly.
@georgiagemo Georgia Mountford-Blake on threads
Wait, isn't this illegal!? I thought the FTC and the equivalent regulatory bodies in other countries require that all advertisements (incl sponsored content) is clearly labelled? 😱
@jasontheknight @jasontheknight on threads
The way Twitter did ads never made sense. You can't block ads on any other platform, right? I had hilarious fun blocking advertisers but it didn't make any damn sense that I could
@john.foland John Foland on threads
“accelerating products” — Meaningless gibberish and an insult to English speakers everywhere. X and their “hardcore” staff apparently are as dumb as they are bigoted.
@craig.sangster Craig Sangster on threads
It seems that, for a lot of people and organizations, giving up X is like giving up opioids. I also thought I'd have major withdrawal when I closed my account, but 🧵's has made the transition virtually painless. I just wish more X-users would become ex-X-users and join us over …
@davidnakayama @davidnakayama on threads
It really bothers me seeing Disney and Marvel ads on there😔
@joshhantman Josh Hantman on threads
I mean, Xitter itself is an openly white supremacist platform, so does it really matter where on the site the ads are posted?
@meal_fitforaking @meal_fitforaking on threads
Twitter has become one of the biggest piles of garbage on the internet. I have never seen so much vile disgusting content in my entire online life as I have in the last nine months. It's just a non stop torrent of hate. …
@mattbinder.bsky.social Matt Binder on bluesky
Twitter / X is serving users with a new ad format that can't be blocked or reported — the ads aren't even actual X posts & aren't connected to any X accounts. they do not disclose that they are ads — it appears the ads are connected to clickbait ad networks — read more: mas…
@jason_kint Jason Kint on x
Not a new comment but starting to think Twitter exists as a massive public relations project to make Facebook look less bad.
@rexhuppke Rex Huppke on x
BREAKING: Elon Musk announces that users will no longer be able to see any text on X, formerly known as Twitter, as the social media platform pivots to focus on “implied alpha-male vibes” and “a sense of seething hatred”
@oneunderscore__ Ben Collins on x
Basically begging a regulator to do something. [image]
@iwasmmueller88 @iwasmmueller88 on x
@MattBinder Not the same, but that top tweet is an account I do not follow. Have never seen before, is clearly a promoted tweet, and has no “Ad” note on it. [image]
@rhawkets @rhawkets on x
@MattBinder Getting ads that don't appear with the word “ad” unless you tap on the tweet and it opens. [image]
@nunyabi54530518 @nunyabi54530518 on x
@MattBinder Oh no are they catching on to the “block every account with ads” trend?
@crazyweemonkey @crazyweemonkey on x
@MattBinder I've started seeing ads that not only don't disclose that they're ads on the timeline but also still don't when opened. The only way to tell that they're ads is by selecting the 3 little dots https://twitter.com/...
@million_aire1 @million_aire1 on x
@MattBinder like this? [image]
@_digglediggle Matthew Brennan on x
@MattBinder [image]
r/popculturechat r on reddit
X rolls out new ad format that can't be reported, blocked
r/RealTesla r on reddit
Linda Yaccarino again claims advertisers are returning to X. Here are the facts.
r/EnoughMuskSpam r on reddit
Linda Yaccarino again claims advertisers are returning to X. Here are the facts:
r/elonmusk r on reddit
Linda Yaccarino again claims advertisers are returning to X. Here are the facts.
r/technology r on reddit
X rolls out new ad format that can't be reported, blocked
r/Twitter r on reddit
X rolls out new ad format that can't be reported, blocked

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