Twitter to reverse ban on political advertising
Christopher Hutton
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Twitter has reversed its ban on political advertising on the platform in the latest effort by its new owner Elon Musk to come up with new sources of revenue.
The social media platform announced on Tuesday that it would allow “cause-based ads,” including political ones, to be hosted on the platform. Twitter faces declining revenue from advertisers, prompting Musk to seek new sources of revenue.
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“We believe that cause-based advertising can facilitate public conversation around important topics. Today, we’re relaxing our ads policy for cause-based ads in the U.S.,” Twitter said in a Tuesday tweet. “We also plan to expand the political advertising we permit in the coming weeks.”
“Moving forward, we will align our advertising policy with that of TV and other media outlets,” the company added. “As with all policy changes, we will first ensure that our approach to reviewing and approving content protects people on Twitter.” No details were released about what these policies will entail.
Twitter had previously incorporated a ban on political ads in 2019 when former Twitter CEO Jack Dorsey stated that political ads should be “earned, not bought.”
While the reinstatement of political ads will add new sources of revenue for the social media platform, it has only accounted for a small fragment of Twitter’s revenue in the past. Political ads accounted for “less than $3 million” in revenue for Twitter in the 2018 midterm elections, former Twitter CFO Ned Segal said in 2019. Twitter ads were also a lower priority for primary candidates in the 2020 elections, who spent more on Facebook advertising than on Twitter.
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The ban reversal is the latest change in policy by Musk in his efforts to reform the company. He has promoted the website’s premium service, Twitter Blue, as a source of revenue, although the launch has been mired with delays and technical problems.
Musk has also loosened the company’s policies on COVID-19 misinformation and allowed multiple journalists and allies access to internal files to detail the company’s past relationship with government agencies.