Omnicom, a major advertising business, advises clients to suspend their Twitter advertising spend

According to an internal letter obtained by Reuters, advertising and marketing group Omnicom Group Inc has advised clients to suspend their expenditure on Twitter in the short term.

Omnicom has approximately 5,000 clients in over 70 countries, including McDonald's Corporation, Apple, and Johnson & Johnson. The message does not name any clients, and it is unclear whether any had suspended Twitter advertising spending.

The move, first reported by tech news site The Verge, highlights rising uncertainty among agencies and companies about Twitter's future following Elon Musk's $44 billion buyout.

Tesla CEO Elon Musk has blamed a "huge" income reduction on civil rights groups asking Twitter advertisers to boycott the service unless Musk defined how he would police disinformation and hate speech on the service.

According to the document, "Twitter's ability to sustain their previous level of brand safety controls and effectiveness appears hampered in the short term."

"While OMG believes that this is unlikely to result in a significantly higher risk environment for advertisers, the risk of being associated with unsafe content may increase and should be considered when deciding whether or not to use the platform."

In the second quarter, ad sales accounted for more than 90% of Twitter's revenue.

Last month, General Motors Co announced a temporary halt to paid advertising on Twitter.

(source : Reuters)