Leaked deck shows Elon Musk's X is promoting Grok's brand-safety scores after sexualized images backlash
Business Insider
March 2, 2026
AI-Generated Deep Dive Summary
Elon Musk’s X platform is doubling down on its brand-safety efforts, showcasing Grok as a key tool to ensure safe ad placements. This move comes after significant backlash over AI-generated sexualized images of women and children, which the platform temporarily halted earlier this year. In a leaked presentation shared with advertisers, X highlights its use of blocklists—tools that prevent ads from appearing on specific sites or accounts—and Grok’s ability to review user content for brand suitability. The system can target up to 4,000 keywords and 2,000 author handles to filter out sensitive topics, achieving near-perfect brand-safety scores as measured by tech companies IAS and DoubleVerify.
The presentation also emphasizes X’s role in real-time crisis management, positioning itself as a platform where brands can navigate issues quickly. However, despite these efforts, X remains one of the smallest social media platforms by ad spending, with less than 1% of global digital ad revenue. Since Musk acquired X (formerly Twitter) in 2022, the relationship between the platform and advertisers has been tense, marked by advertiser departures and legal disputes. For instance, X is suing an advertiser trade group for allegedly boycotting the platform, accusing them of antitrust violations.
X’s challenges are compounded by its reputation for loosening moderation rules and reinstating banned accounts tied to controversial figures. These actions have raised concerns among advertisers about the platform’s reliability. The leaked deck appears to be part of a charm offensive aimed at convincing advertisers of X’s commitment to brand safety, but it remains unclear whether these efforts will succeed in rebuilding trust.
For businesses, this situation underscores the delicate balance platforms must strike between fostering free expression and maintaining brand-safe environments. As digital advertising continues to evolve, platforms like X will need to prove their ability to adapt while addressing advertiser concerns about moderation, transparency, and legal risks. The outcome of X’s efforts could have broader implications for how brands engage with social media platforms in the future.
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Originally published on Business Insider on 3/2/2026