Hey everybody, welcome back to the Elon Musk Podcast. This is a show where we discuss the critical Crossroads, The Shape, SpaceX, Tesla X, The Boring Company, and Neuralink, and I'm your host, Will Walden. If you want uninterrupted episodes of the Elon Musk podcast, please go to clubelon.supercast.com to find out how there's a link in the show, notes. Mr. Beast, who's a massive YouTube, recently uploaded a video directly to X, Elon Musk's social media platform formerly known as Twitter.
Now this is a huge move since Mr. Beast is primarily known for his YouTube presence. However, this upload has sparked controversy as users of X reported that Mister Beast video is appearing in their feeds as an unlabeled ad multiple times a day. Now this episode will unravel the layers of this issue and its implications for the platform
and digital advertising norms. So users have noticed that Mister Beast's video lacks the typical indicators of an advertisement on X, such as the time stamp or a quote ad label. This absence has led to confusion and questions about the transparency of X's advertising practices. And the issue highlights a broader concern regarding the labeling and identification of sponsored content on social
media platforms. Mr. Beast, whose real name is Jimmy Donaldson, expressed curiosity about the potential ad revenue from X. His decision to upload the video on X was framed as a kind of a test to explore new revenue streams, diverging from his usual YouTube focus strategy. Now the lack of clear labeling on Mr. Beast's video post has raised eyebrows. Some users have shared their experiences, noting the repeated appearance of the video in their feeds without the usual ad identifiers.
The situation aligns with reports of X displaying unlabeled ads since September of last year, a development that has caught the attention of ad tech watchdogs and regulators. Now the organization Quote Check My Ads filed A complaint with the FTC highlighting concerns about X's transparency with ad labeling. This points to increasing scrutiny over how social media platforms manage and disclose advertising content, which is a key issue in the digital
advertising industry. An employee of X, in a discussion with Ryan Broderick of the Garage Day newsletter, suggested that the presence of a pre roll video ad before Mr. Beast's video serves as sufficient disclosure. However, this explanation has been met with skepticism as it conflates different types of advertisements, potentially muddying the waters of advertising transparency.
Now, intriguingly, older videos on the X app show Mr. Beast's posts with a promoted label indicating it's an ad. This inconsistency raises questions about how X's advertising mechanisms function and how they're perceived by different segments of its user base. The situation suggests that X might be artificially boosting Mr. Beast's video views through these unlabeled ads. This action, intentional or not, affects the platform's credibility and the authenticity of content.
Reach and Elon Musk's strategy for X highly emphasizes video content. The platform's recent signings of high profile figures for exclusive video deals under score this focus, and Musk's direct engagement with creators like Mr. Beast reveals his active role in shaping the
platform's content landscape. But despite initial reluctance setting production costs and fair compensation concerns, Mr. Beast was persuaded by Elon to experiment with uploading content on X. This could signal a significant shift in content distribution strategies for high profile creators like Mr. Beast. Now, if Mr. Beast's venture on X proves financially successful, it can mark a major win from us, potentially attracting more top creators to the platform and
bolstering its multimedia strategy. And there's a lack of clarity around how X counts views on his platforms, especially after the removal of the public video view count feature. This obscurity makes it challenging to gauge the true reach and engagement of video content on X. Mr. BS has engaged with his followers in guessing the potential earnings from X's ad
revenue share program. However, the platform's complex monetization rules, which favor certain types of users and content, make it difficult to predict. The actual learnings and reports suggest that X's creator monetization program is somewhat arbitrary, lacking a transparent and predictable payment structure. This unpredictability contrasts sharply with more established platforms like YouTube, where views are more directly
correlated with earnings. Now, Elon Musk's promotion of Mr. Beast's video to his millions of followers adds another layer to the narrative, indicating his personal involvement in content creation and curation and promotion on X, possibly giving Mr. Beast's video millions of views of a
boost. This outcome will not only reveal the platform's potential for content creators, but also will shed some light on its advertising and monetization strategies and his platforms like X. The need for transparency and fair practices become increasingly crucial. Whether X's approach with Mr. B's video marks a strategic shift or a one off experiment remains to be seen. Hey, thank you so much for listening today. I really do appreciate your
support. If you could take a second and hit the subscribe or the follow button on whatever podcast platform that you're listening on right now, I'd greatly appreciate it. It helps out the show tremendously and you'll never miss an episode and each episode is about 10 minutes or less to get you caught. U quickly and please if you want to support the show even more, go to patreon.com/stage Zero and please take care of yourselves and each other and I'll see you tomorrow.