Elon Musk’s platform now allows publication of ‘adult nudity or sexual behavior’
Last week, X, formerly Twitter, began allowing the publication of explicit adult content, that is, on Elon Musk’s social network ‘adult nudity or sexual behavior produced and distributed consensually’, as X himself reported.
In a note, X said that ‘sexual expression, whether visual or written, can be a legitimate form of artistic expression’. “We believe in the autonomy of adults to get involved and create content that reflects their own beliefs, desires and experiences, including those related to sexuality”, said part of the note — read the full text here.
But can the officialization of adult content have any impact on the strategies of brands that use X as one of their channels? Mayra Cordeiro, CCO at OMZ, believes that there must be an impact on brand strategies.
“Imagine creating a campaign, making investments in production and media and having your mentions populated by adult profiles sharing inappropriate videos and photos?”, he asks.
“I think that this positioning of the network will transform them into a channel aimed at niche brands, leaving them out of big plans. And the loss of traditional users will reduce the effectiveness of campaigns that depend on this audience base”, said the CCO.
For Flavio Waiteman, partner and CCO at Tech&Soul, the brands will always have the final say. “We know that the use of this topic will be very limited, as companies have the same tone of voice on social media that they have on other channels. Now, without a doubt, Twitter’s audience will increase a lot. It remains to be seen whether the audience will be worth it at any cost. It’s a shame,” said the columnist for propmark.
Rodrigo Terra, CMO of Monking, stated that adult content is one of the most consumed themes in the world, but far from mainstream advertising.
The executive also said that he sees, behind this announcement, a way to attract new subscribers “and reverse a trend of mass exit that has been happening, regardless of the quality of the content. There is still the political issue of using large bases as room for maneuver – which, we know, is very dangerous.”
Balance
Marcelo Crespo, coordinator of ESPM Law courses and specialist in digital law, believes that many brands should review their strategies carried out on Elon Musk’s platform.
But he also warns of the emergence of a new niche. “It’s a balance that the company must be making between gaining base and losing monetization,” he said.
João Vitor Rodrigues, professor of Digital Marketing at ESPM, believes that it should not cause major impacts on brands’ strategies. The professor stated that pornographic content on X will continue to circulate, without any relationship with brands that are not related to this type of content.
“For brands, businesses and content creators that sell pornographic content, the change may benefit them, as they will be free from restrictions to promote this content.”
