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The Guardian - AU
The Guardian - AU
Technology
Josh Taylor

Australian government gave $2.7m to Elon Musk’s X for advertisements in billionaire’s first year as owner

Elon Musk X United States Donald Trump Axel Bruns Guardian Australia Twitter Inc. DOGE TwitterX
Between November 2022 and November 2023, in the year after the world’s richest man, Elon Musk, took over Twitter/X, the Australian government spent nearly $3m of taxpayer dollars advertising on the platform.
Between November 2022 and November 2023, in the year after the world’s richest man, Elon Musk, took over Twitter/X, the Australian government spent nearly $3m of taxpayer dollars advertising on the platform. Photograph: Dado Ruvić/Reuters

The Australian government spent nearly $3m of taxpayer dollars advertising on Twitter/X in the first year after the world’s richest man, Elon Musk, took over the platform, despite warnings of brand reputation damage that caused the government to initially pause ads.

Data obtained by Guardian Australia, after a protracted freedom of information battle with the federal finance department, revealed $2.7m was spent between November 2022 and November 2023. Musk finalised his purchase of the platform on 28 October 2022.

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