Digital ad spending, while still growing overall, “has slowed sharply,” according to analysis last month by research firm Insider Intelligence.

Twitter seems to be the worst. The company has struggled to retain top advertisers since Mr Musk took over as owner in October, amid fears of a proliferation of hate speech and misinformation on the platform. His top 10 advertisers last year spent 55% less during Mr Musk’s tenure than a year earlier, with six estimated to have spent nothing so far in 2023 from the research company Sensor Tower.Twitter offered offers, discounts and freebies to lure advertisers, media buyers said.

But advertising problems have also affected the largest publicly traded social networks. Snapchat’s parent company posted its slowest quarterly growth rate on record last month and forecast lower sales for the current quarter. Google’s parent company, Alphabet, said YouTube ad sales fell nearly 8% in the last quarter.

Last year, Meta, which owns Facebook and Instagram, saw its first drop in quarterly revenue (it fell again in the last quarter). Ad prices on Facebook and Instagram have fallen24% in the last quarter of 2022 compared to a year earlier, according to investment bank Piper Sandler.

Shareholder pressure, fueled by years of big profits, continues to push these companies to generate revenue wherever possible– including, experts say, selling low-quality ads.

Corey Richardson, vice president of multicultural ad agency Fluent360 in Chicago, said he’s seen more ads for items he had no interest in – Hawaiian shirts with “Star Wars” characters, a fountain in the shape of hands clasped in a prayer position, all mixed with vaccine misinformation and the occasional video depicting violence.

“They just take all the money that comes in – the beggars can’t choose,” Mr Richardson said.

Twitter did not respond to a request for comment. Meta declined to comment. YouTube said it invested “significantly” in ad quality and consumer experience.