Twitter to remove political advertising ban; read why
Key Takeaways:
- We also plan to allow more political advertising in the coming weeks, the company said on its Twitter Safety account.
- Musk, a self-described supporter of free speech, bought Twitter because, in his view, it wasn’t effectively fulfilling that function.
The latest change made by Elon Musk as he attempts to increase revenue after acquiring the social media platform last year is Twitter’s announcement that it will relax its three-year-old ban on political advertising.
We’re relaxing our ads strategy for cause-based ads in the U.S.; the company tweeted late on Tuesday.
In the upcoming weeks, we also intend to increase the political advertising that we allow, the business declared via its Twitter Safety account.
In 2019, Twitter banned all political advertising in response to rising anxiety over the spread of false data on social media.
When talking at the time, Jack Dorsey, the company’s then-CEO, noted that although internet advertisements are strong and successful for businesses, “that power brings significant risks to politics, where it can be used to influence votes to affect the lives of millions.”
The most recent activity appears to be a departure from that rule, which forbade advertisements from candidates, political parties or selected or appointed public officials.
Less than US$3 million of the total expenditures for the 2018 U.S. midterm elections were accounted for by political advertising, which made up a tiny portion of Twitter’s overall revenue.
Without giving more information, Twitter reversed the ban because “cause-based advertising can facilitate a public conversation around important topics” and because the change will bring the platform’s advertising policies in line with those of “T.V. and other media outlets.”
Following the 2020 U.S. presidential election, Facebook imposed a ban on political and social issue advertisements that was lifted in March 2021.
As a self-described defender of free speech, Musk purchased Twitter because, in his opinion, it wasn’t serving that purpose as well as it could.
However, to justify the US$44 billion purchase, the billionaire Tesla CEO has been forced to make drastic cost cuts and scramble to find new sources of income.
