Top ad group says Twitter no longer 'high risk' after new chief appointed: Report

Top advertising agency GroupM has told its clients that it no longer considers Twitter "high-risk" and is "cautiously optimistic" about the appointment of Linda Yaccarino as its new chief, the Financial Times reported on Friday.

Yaccarino will take over the social media platform beset with challenges and a heavy debt load, after she spent several years modernizing the advertising business at NBCUniversal.

WPP-owned GroupM had last year labelled Twitter as a "high risk" platform for advertising following Elon Musk's takeover. It flagged various issues including, large numbers of Twitter executives leaving or being fired and a wave of high-profile impersonations, that raised concerns about Twitter's abilities to follow the Federal Trade Commission's orders, various media reports showed.

GroupM had been holding back until there was a "return to normalcy" in regards to the amount of harmful content on the platform, which rose after the acquisition, the FT report said.

The group had been waiting for Musk to repopulate his senior leadership team and working with Twitter on improving "brand safety", it added.

Last year, Twitter laid off half its workforce but said cuts were smaller in the team responsible for preventing the spread of misinformation, as advertisers pulled spending amid concerns about content moderation.

GroupM and Twitter did not immediately respond to a request for comment.