Twitter will allow political ads, reversing 2019 ban

Twitter will once again allow political ads, the company announced Wednesday. Twitter banned political ads from the platform in 2019, just one year before the presidential election, and long after the company had become a breeding ground for political disinformation. The change will allow candidates and political groups to run ads on the platform, CEO Elon Musk tweeted Wednesday. The social network will add a clear label to political ads that indicates the advertiser and whether the ad has been approved by the candidate.<br><br>The company had previously allowed political advertisements but banned them to avoid the spread of disinformation. “Political message reach should be earned, not bought,” then-CEO Jack Dorsey tweeted at the time. Since taking over Twitter, however, Musk has shifted the platform’s approach to moderation, including the reinstatement of previously suspended accounts.<br><br>The decision to allow political ads comes ahead of the 2024 presidential election. Twitter’s main competitors, including Alphabet’s Google and Meta’s Facebook and Instagram, have continued to allow political advertisements on their platforms. Twitter’s decision to allow political ads again is in line with its loosening of moderation rules, including the reinstatement of previously suspended accounts and the lifting of a ban on tweets that encourage suicide.<br><br>The company stated that it would not allow deceptive or manipulative ads and that political advertisements would be subject to Twitter’s advertising policies. “Effective immediately, we will end our prohibition on political ads and relax our ads policy for cause-based advertising, in line with our values of free expression and open Internet,” the company said.<br><br>The decision has led to mixed reactions, with some people praising the move and others criticizing it. Some argue that allowing political ads gives more freedom of expression, while others worry that it may lead to the spread of misinformation and propaganda.