X gains over 10mn users this December amid advertiser exodus
X has gained over 10 million users in December, as stated by CEO Linda Yaccarino. This growth comes despite a significant number of advertisers abandoning the platform due to concerns about disinformation and hate speech. Major companies such as Apple, Disney, IBM, and Lionsgate Entertainment have already left the platform, accusing X and its billionaire owner Elon Musk of promoting anti-Semitism. Yaccarino didn't disclose how many of the 10 million new users were paying customers.
Take a look at Yaccarino's post
Musk's controversial remarks sparked the backlash
Last month, Musk faced backlash for endorsing a post that claimed Jewish people were fueling hatred against whites and supporting immigration by "hordes of minorities." In response to these anti-Semitism allegations, X filed a lawsuit against the liberal activist group Media Matters for a report, stating that ads from major brands like Apple appeared alongside content praising Adolf Hitler and the Nazi Party. Media Matters called the lawsuit "frivolous" and an attempt to silence critics.
Musk's recent response to advertisers and potential revenue loss
Musk accused the departing companies of trying to blackmail him, telling advertisers to "Go f**k yourself." Last month, The New York Times reported that internal company documents suggested X could lose up to $75 million in advertising revenue by year's end due to declining ad revenues. Now, the platform might lose even more advertisers because of Musk's recent outburst against major brands.
X introduces Grok, its AI chatbot, to subscribers
Besides the new sign-ups, and amid advertiser backlash, Musk and company has now unveiled their first AI model, Grok, to subscribers. Grok has started rolling in the US, exclusively to the X Premium+ subscribers. To recall, this is a $16/month plan, which provides ad-free access to the social network. X says longtime subscribers will get priority access to Grok.
Grok can incorporate real-time data from posts on X
Developed by Musk's start-up, xAI, Grok competes against OpenAI's ChatGPT. It relies on the Grok-1 generative model, trained on web data (up to Q3 2023) and human assistants' feedback. Grok engages in conversational question answering, leveraging a knowledge base akin to the ones training ChatGPT and Google's Bard AI models. Distinguishing itself from other chatbots, Grok can integrate real-time data from X posts, theoretically providing up-to-the-minute information. Users can find Grok in X's side menu on web, iOS, and Android.
