Elon Musk claimed that Apple has stopped most of its advertising on Twitter, and threatened to take the platform out of its app store.
This feud is a result of many companies stopping spending on Twitter because they are concerned about Musk’s content moderation plans.
Apple has not replied to BBC requests for comment.
Musk claimed that Twitter saw a “massive” drop of revenue and blamed activists for pressuring advertisers.
He tweeted a series on Monday accusing Apple of “censorship” as well as criticizing its policies, including the charges it imposes on app store purchases.
Apple has largely stopped advertising on Twitter. Are they against free speech in America? He said.
Musk is facing pressure after Twitter bought him for $44bn.
Although he has stated that he would like to make some money through Twitter verification, the majority of the site’s revenue is currently from advertising.
The Washington Post reported Apple as the top Twitter advertiser, spending $48m in ads during the first quarter 2022.
Some of the companies that have stopped spending recently include General Mills Cheerios and Volkswagen
Media Matters, an independent watchdog, reported last week, that half of the top Twitter advertisers had removed their advertising due to concerns about Twitter’s direction.
Musk stated earlier that revenue has dropped significantly on the social media platform. According to Media Matters, a number of top Twitter advertisers have “seemingly stopped advertising” on Twitter in the past few weeks. This was based on an analysis by Media Matters, a non-profit watchdog. Volkswagen and Cheerios maker General Mills are two of the companies that have stopped spending on advertising in recent weeks.
Musk also tweeted that Apple imposes a secret tax on developers publishing apps to the App Store. Musk wrote: “Did Apple put a secret 30% tax upon everything you buy through the App Store?” The 30 percent cut Apple has on apps in the App Store has been long criticised by many developers. It is also not a secret.
Apple was Twitter’s top advertiser. According to a Washington Post report, Apple was the top advertiser on Twitter in the first quarter. It spent $48million on ads on the platform and accounted for more than 4 per cent of Twitter’s total revenue.
Musk ran a poll asking people if they thought the tech giant should publish a list listing all of their actions that contributed to censorship across various platforms. Musk also indicated in a meme (which has since been deleted), that he plans to “go to war with Apple.”