Australian government gave $2.7m to Elon Musk’s X for advertisements in billionaire’s first year as owner

Exclusive: Spending came after the Albanese government paused ads for a week amid reports ads were appearing next to inappropriate contentElection 2025 live updates: Australia federal election campaignGet our afternoon election email, free app or daily news podcastThe Australian government spent nearly $3m of taxpayer dollars advertising on Twitter/X in the first year after the world’s richest man, Elon Musk, took over the platform, despite warnings of brand reputation damage that caused the government to initially pause ads.Data obtained by Guardian Australia, after a protracted freedom of information battle with the federal finance department, revealed $2.7m was spent between November 2022 and November 2023. Musk finalised his purchase of the platform on 28 October 2022.Sign up for the Afternoon Update: Election 2025 email newsletter Continue reading...

Apr 9, 2025 - 03:06

Australian government gave $2.7m to Elon Musk’s X for advertisements in billionaire’s first year as owner

Exclusive: Spending came after the Albanese government paused ads for a week amid reports ads were appearing next to inappropriate content

The Australian government spent nearly $3m of taxpayer dollars advertising on Twitter/X in the first year after the world’s richest man, Elon Musk, took over the platform, despite warnings of brand reputation damage that caused the government to initially pause ads.

Data obtained by Guardian Australia, after a protracted freedom of information battle with the federal finance department, revealed $2.7m was spent between November 2022 and November 2023. Musk finalised his purchase of the platform on 28 October 2022.

Sign up for the Afternoon Update: Election 2025 email newsletter Continue reading...