![Cooper: Ignoring Trump, as tempting as it may be, isn't an option](https://news.internationalpk.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/07/Twitter-is-having-an-inexplicably-awesome-2021-1024x576.jpg)
The Fleets failure is emblematic of Twitter’s challenges: trying to prove to users and advertisers that it can be more than a news wire on steroids for media junkies. Donald Trump also is no longer a presence on the platform, having been banned just weeks before his presidency ended following the violent protests at the Capitol on January 6.
That leaves Twitter in the uncomfortable position of being accused of anti-conservative bias while trying to fill a giant content void to attract more users.
Analysts predict that Twitter ended the second quarter with about 206 million users, up nearly 11% from a year ago and more than 3% above the 199 million users it had at the end of March. That’s steady, but not spectacular, growth.
Some shareholders are also worried that Twitter hasn’t done enough to crack down on controversial content.
Activist firm and Twitter investor Arjuna Capital made a shareholder proposal at the company’s annual meeting in late May that called for the company to add someone with a human rights or civil rights background to its board. Or better yet, both.
“Only after the violent attack on the U.S. Capitol was Donald Trump banned from the platform to stop the further incitement of violence,” said Natasha Lamb, managing partner at Arjuna Capital, at Twitter’s annual meeting.
“The ties between the company’s business model and threats to civil and human rights can no longer be ignored,” she added. “And while this model has been profitable, it is increasingly problematic, threatening Twitter’s brand and social license to operate.”
Ad revenue is the lifeblood of Twitter’s business, accounting for about 85% of total sales.
Lamb argued that “Twitter is losing the trust of its advertisers, users, and perhaps most importantly, public policymakers.”
Should Dorsey focus more on Twitter? Or Square?
During the Twitter annual meeting, Dorsey said about Trump that “we went directly towards our terms of service in the removal of that account. There’s no switching from that. When we permanently ban an account, we permanently ban it.”
There have been intermittent calls from analysts for Dorsey to choose one of his companies and manage it full time. Square’s stock has been a much better performer since its 2015 initial public offering than Twitter has since going public in 2013. For that reason, some analysts think Dorsey needs to dedicate all his efforts to growing Twitter. But others argue that he should capitalize on Square’s success and let someone else run the social media platform.