Balenciaga has deleted its Twitter account, becoming the first major fashion brand to leave the social media platform amid growing concern over new owner Elon Musk’s vision for the site.
Major corporations including General Motors and Dyson have already suspended ad campaigns, and celebrities including Gigi Hadid have left Twitter following Musk’s takeover of the company in late October.
Some companies and users have raised concerns that Musk’s plans for mass layoffs and a focus on promoting free speech will lead to more relaxed content moderation on the site, which could make it harder for advertisers to avoid being linked. with hate speech and misinformation. A September incident in which ads appeared on pages promoting links to child pornography highlighted the potential risks of Musk’s strategy, as did a slew of fake accounts posing as brands last week, which were allowed them to buy “verified” tags on the site.
While Twitter’s importance to the fashion industry has waned in recent years, the platform has been a major source of online buzz for Kering-owned Balenciaga, as creative director Demna sparked conversations with designs that include clothing. oversized sneakers, sculptural couture, and divisive pieces like $1,790 leather junk totes and $950 Crocs. Balenciaga’s account recently had up to 950,000 followers.
The Paris-based brand declined to comment on the move, but confirmed that it had removed its page from the platform.
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Source: news.google.com