Ad media expert Mark Douglas told CNBC’s “The News with Shepard Smith” that the violence on Capitol Hill perpetrated by a mob of President Donald Trump’s supporters is a “rocket ship” for social media companies’ advertising businesses.

“Political turmoil drives increased engagement on social media, and right or wrong, that generates more revenue for Facebook and Twitter,” said Douglas, the founder and CEO of adtech firm Steelhouse. “Even if there are brands who ultimately decide to pause their advertising because of brand safety concerns, the increases in revenue more than offsets that. This may be a challenging time for social media censorship, but it’s a rocket ship for their ad business.”

In the third quarter, Facebook made $21+ billion from ad revenue and Twitter made $808 million. Facebook’s average revenue per user was $7.89 while Twitter’s average revenue per user was $4.30.

Multiple social media platforms threw Trump off of their sites after he incited a mob of his supporters to storm the U.S. Capitol in an effort to overturn his election loss. KEEP READING