Elon Musk not too long ago mentioned Twitter’s promoting enterprise was on the upswing. “Virtually all advertisers have come again,” he asserted, including that the social media firm might quickly turn out to be worthwhile.

However Twitter’s U.S. promoting income for the 5 weeks from April 1 to the primary week of Might was $88 million, down 59 p.c from a 12 months earlier, in keeping with an inside presentation obtained by The New York Instances. The corporate has often fallen wanting its U.S. weekly gross sales projections, generally by as a lot as 30 p.c, the doc mentioned.

That efficiency is unlikely to enhance anytime quickly, in keeping with the paperwork and 7 present and former Twitter workers.

Twitter’s advert gross sales workers is anxious that advertisers could also be spooked by an increase in hate speech and pornography on the social community, in addition to extra advertisements that includes on-line playing and marijuana merchandise, the folks mentioned. The corporate has forecast that its U.S. advert income this month will probably be down at the very least 56 p.c every week in contrast with a 12 months in the past, in keeping with one inside doc.

These points will quickly be inherited by Linda Yaccarino, the NBCUniversal government whom Mr. Musk named Twitter’s chief government final month. She is anticipated to begin the job on Monday, 4 folks aware of the scenario mentioned.

Ms. Yaccarino declined to remark by a spokesman. Mr. Musk didn’t reply to a request for remark.

The state of Twitter’s promoting is essential as a result of advertisements have lengthy made up 90 p.c of the corporate’s income. After Mr. Musk purchased Twitter for $44 billion in October and took the corporate personal, he vowed to construct “probably the most revered advert platform.” However he shortly alienated advertisers by firing key gross sales executives, spreading a conspiracy idea on the location and welcoming again barred Twitter customers.

In response, a number of giant advert companies and types, together with Normal Motors and Volkswagen, paused their advert spending on Twitter. Mr. Musk has mentioned Twitter was on monitor to put up $3 billion in income in 2023, down from $5.1 billion in 2021, when it was a public firm.

Twitter’s valuation has since plunged. In March, Mr. Musk mentioned the corporate was price $20 billion, down greater than 50 p.c from the $44 billion he paid for it. Final week, the mutual funds large Constancy, which owns shares in Twitter, valued the corporate at $15 billion.

Twitter feels more and more “unpredictable and chaotic,” mentioned Jason Kint, chief government of Digital Content material Subsequent, an affiliation for premium publishers. “Advertisers need to run in an atmosphere the place they’re snug and may ship a sign about their model,” he added.

A few of Twitter’s greatest advertisers — together with Apple, Amazon and Disney — have been spending much less on the platform than final 12 months, three former and present Twitter workers mentioned. Giant specialised “banner” advertisements on Twitter’s tendencies web page, which may value $500,000 for twenty-four hours and are nearly at all times purchased by giant manufacturers to advertise occasions, reveals or motion pictures, are sometimes going unfilled, they mentioned.

Twitter has additionally run into public relations snafus with large advertisers like Disney. In April, Twitter mistakenly gave a gold verify mark — a badge meant to suggest a paying advertiser — to the @DisneyJuniorUK account, which Disney doesn’t personal. The account posted racial slurs, main Disney officers to demand from Twitter an evidence and assurances that it wouldn’t occur once more, two folks with information of the scenario mentioned.

Disney, Apple and Amazon declined to remark.

Six advert company executives who’ve labored with Twitter mentioned their purchasers continued to restrict spending on the platform. They cited confusion over Mr. Musk’s modifications to the service, inconsistent assist from Twitter and considerations in regards to the persistent presence of deceptive and poisonous content material on the platform.

Final month, as an example, an image that appeared to indicate an explosion close to the Pentagon — which synthetic intelligence consultants recognized as a synthetically generated picture — was shared by dozens of Twitter accounts and briefly prompted the inventory market to tumble.

Some advertisers additionally proceed to fret about Mr. Musk’s tweets. Final month, he posted a number of occasions evaluating the billionaire financier George Soros, a frequent goal for conspiracy theorists, to the “X-Males” comedian ebook villain Magneto. Ted Deutch, the chief government of the American Jewish Committee, famous that each Mr. Soros and Magneto are Holocaust survivors, and that “the lie Jews need to destroy civilization has led to the persecution of Jewish folks for hundreds of years.”

“Musk ought to know higher,” he mentioned.

Final week, Ella Irwin, Twitter’s head of belief and security, the division that oversees content material moderation, and AJ Brown, the top of brand name security and advert high quality, resigned, three present and former workers mentioned. Ms. Irwin and Mr. Brown didn’t reply to requests for remark.

Mr. Musk has promoted new instruments, generally known as adjacency controls, so advertisers can maintain their advertisements away from tweets containing particular key phrases or posts by sure customers. Some advertisers are utilizing the instruments to maintain their content material away from Mr. Musk’s tweets, 4 folks aware of the scenario mentioned.

Nonetheless, some entrepreneurs are returning to the platform. GroupM, a media-buying group that’s a part of the advert large WPP, knowledgeable workers in Might that it was eradicating its “excessive threat” flag on Twitter and guiding purchasers to return, at their discretion, to enterprise as normal, two folks aware of the choice mentioned. IPG, one other giant promoting firm, has beneficial that purchasers proceed with warning when coping with Twitter, after suggesting final fall that they quickly pause their spending.

Twitter is exploring methods to make it simpler for advertisers to purchase house on the platform, testing an automatic system exterior the US to make offers, two folks aware of the association mentioned. Insider earlier reported the transfer.

The corporate is experiencing advert progress in areas that it as soon as shied away from or prohibited, together with on-line playing and marijuana merchandise. In a single week final month, 4 of Twitter’s prime 10 U.S. advertisers had been on-line playing and fantasy sports activities betting corporations, in keeping with one presentation. Twitter has additionally began permitting advertisements for hashish equipment, together with “bongs, vapes, rolling paper,” in addition to erectile dysfunction services, in keeping with inside emails.

Grownup content material, which is permitted on Twitter, has turn out to be a priority among the many firm’s gross sales workers. When some workers tried to drum up curiosity from advertisers for Mom’s Day, they discovered that potential sponsored search phrases, like “MomLife,” surfaced pornographic movies, in keeping with two folks aware of the conversations.

These are points that some advertisers hope Ms. Yaccarino will remedy.

Dave Campanelli, the chief funding officer of Horizon Media, mentioned he hoped for change after Ms. Yaccarino began, as a result of media companies like his struggled to take care of contact with Twitter final fall after Mr. Musk arrived.

“For a interval, we weren’t even positive who to get on the telephone with to speak to,” he mentioned. “With Linda coming in, that might change that in an enormous means.”

He acknowledged that Twitter’s mercurial boss and unstable atmosphere may pose a problem for Ms. Yaccarino.

“It’s a tall order,” Mr. Campanelli mentioned.

Benjamin Mullin contributed reporting.