Elon Musk sought to reassure big companies that advertise on Twitter on Wednesday that his of the social media platform wonB次元官网网址檛 harm their brands, acknowledging that some B次元官网网址渄umb thingsB次元官网网址� might happen on his way to creating what he says will be a better, safer user experience.

The latest erratic move on the minds of major advertisers B次元官网网址� that the company depends on for revenue B次元官网网址� was MuskB次元官网网址檚 decision to abolish a new B次元官网网址渙fficialB次元官网网址� label on high-profile Twitter accounts just hours after introducing it.

Twitter began adding gray labels to prominent accounts Wednesday, including brands like Coca-Cola, Nike and Apple, to indicate that they are authentic. A few hours later, the labels started disappearing.

B次元官网网址淎part from being an aesthetic nightmare when looking at the Twitter feed, it was simply another way of creating a two-class system,B次元官网网址� the billionaire Tesla CEO told advertisers in an hour-long conversation broadcast live on Twitter. B次元官网网址淚t wasnB次元官网网址檛 addressing the core problem.B次元官网网址�

MuskB次元官网网址檚 comments were his most expansive about TwitterB次元官网网址檚 future since he closed a $44 billion deal to buy the company late last month, dismissed its top executives almost immediately and, on Friday, . Major brands including General Motors, United Airlines, General Mills and others have as they watch whether MuskB次元官网网址檚 plans to loosen its guardrails against hate speech will lead to a rise in online toxicity.

Scores of companies big and small made their presence known among the more than 100,000 Twitter Space listeners by signing in with their brand Twitter accounts. The brand accounts for companies including banks Deutsche Bank, TD Ameritrade, gas company Chevron, automaker Nissan, airline Air Canada and many others appeared. Car brand Audi, which has paused Twitter ads, was there, as was retailer R.E.I., which said after the call its ads were still paused.

Musk said heB次元官网网址檚 still planning a B次元官网网址渃ontent moderation councilB次元官网网址� representing diverse viewpoints that will tackle inappropriate content and reassure advertisers but it would take B次元官网网址渁 few monthsB次元官网网址� to put together. He said it will be advisory and B次元官网网址渘ot a command council.B次元官网网址�

Lou Paskalis, longtime marketing and media executive and former Bank of America head of global media, said the briefing raised questions that will likely leave Fortune 500 advertisers uneasy.

The biggest concern for big advertisers is brand safety and risk avoidance, he said. And Musk seems uninterested in reigning in his Twitter persona that can be divisive B次元官网网址� such as his advising Americans to vote Republican.

B次元官网网址淭o come out like Elon did B次元官网网址� and say B次元官网网址榲ote Republican since thereB次元官网网址檚 a Democrat in the White HouseB次元官网网址� B次元官网网址� I donB次元官网网址檛 know what marketer wants to go near that,B次元官网网址� he said.

One solution could be to hire a CEO to run the company and create stability while Musk continues to be his B次元官网网址淐hief TwitB次元官网网址� persona, Paskalis said.

Musk had earlier a B次元官网网址渢hermonuclear name & shameB次元官网网址� on advertisers that quit Twitter. But he took a more measured approach Wednesday, asking them to B次元官网网址済ive it a minute and kind of see how things are evolving.B次元官网网址�

B次元官网网址淭he best way to understand whatB次元官网网址檚 going on with Twitter is use Twitter,B次元官网网址� he told the group, which was represented mostly by the head of the Interactive Advertising Bureau, a trade association.

However, the confusion on Twitter continued Wednesday. The rollout hours earlier of the B次元官网网址渙fficialB次元官网网址� labels appeared arbitrary, with some politicians, news outlets and well-known personalities getting the label and others not. In some cases, whether users could see an accountB次元官网网址檚 B次元官网网址渙fficialB次元官网网址� label appeared to depend on what country they were in.

Then the labels started disappearing.

YouTube personality and author John Green got the label but his younger brother and B次元官网网址渧loggingB次元官网网址� partner Hank Green didnB次元官网网址檛 make the cut. Then John GreenB次元官网网址檚 label was gone. Another popular YouTuber, Marques Brownlee, who posts videos on technology, tweeted he got the label, then tweeted again that it disappeared.

B次元官网网址淚 just killed it,B次元官网网址� Musk responded, though at first it wasnB次元官网网址檛 clear if he was referring specifically to BrownleeB次元官网网址檚 label or the entire project.

The siteB次元官网网址檚 current system of using B次元官网网址渂lue checksB次元官网网址� to confirm an accountB次元官网网址檚 authenticity will soon go away for those who donB次元官网网址檛 pay a monthly fee. The checkmarks will be available for anyone willing to pay which will also include some bonus features, such as fewer ads and the ability to have tweets given greater visibility than those coming from non-subscribers.

The platformB次元官网网址檚 current verification system has been in place since 2009 and was created to ensure high-profile and public-facing accounts are who they say they are.

Experts have expressed concern that making the checkmark available to anyone for a fee could lead to impersonations and the spreading of misinformation and scams.

The gray label B次元官网网址� a color that tends to blend into the background whether you use light or dark mode to scroll Twitter B次元官网网址� was an apparent compromise.

Esther Crawford, a Twitter employee who has been working on the verification overhaul, had that the B次元官网网址渙fficialB次元官网网址� label would be added to B次元官网网址渟elect accountsB次元官网网址� when the new system launches.

B次元官网网址淣ot all previously verified accounts will get the B次元官网网址極fficialB次元官网网址� label and the label is not available for purchase,B次元官网网址� said Crawford.

But after the labels started disappearing Wednesday, she again took to Twitter to say B次元官网网址渢here are no sacred cows in product at Twitter anymore.B次元官网网址�

B次元官网网址淓lon is willing to try lots of things B次元官网网址� many will fail, some will succeed,B次元官网网址� she said.

There are about 423,000 verified accounts Many of those belong to celebrities, businesses and politicians.

But a large chunk of verified accounts belong to individual journalists, some with tiny followings at local newspapers and news sites around the world. The idea was to verify reporters so their identities couldnB次元官网网址檛 be used to push false information on Twitter.

Musk, who often bristles at critical news coverage, pushed back against that use of the tool Wednesday, saying he wanted to elevate B次元官网网址渃itizen journalismB次元官网网址� and the B次元官网网址渧oice of the peopleB次元官网网址� over publications he suggested had too much influence in defining the B次元官网网址淲estern narrative.B次元官网网址� Journalism professionals generally consider MuskB次元官网网址檚 concept of elevating B次元官网网址渃itizen journalistsB次元官网网址� dangerous because it ignores the need for standards, including fact-checking, that responsible news organizations enforce.

B次元官网网址擬att OB次元官网网址檅rien, Mae Anderson and Barbara Ortutay, The Associated Press