Twitter to expand permitted political advertising

Twitter logos are displayed outside the company's offices in San Francisco on Dec. 19, 2022. (AP)
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  • Twitter banned political ads in 2019 after it and other social media companies like Facebook faced widespread criticism for allowing election misinformation to spread across its services. It also restricted ads related to social causes

SAN FRANCISCO: Twitter Inc. on Tuesday said it would expand the types of political ads allowed on the social media platform, an apparent reversal of its 2019 global ban on political ads, as the Elon Musk-owned company seeks to grow revenue.
The company tweeted it would also relax its advertising policy for 鈥渃ause-based ads鈥� in the United States, and moving forward would align its advertising policy 鈥渨ith that of TV and other media outlets.鈥�
Twitter banned political ads in 2019 after it and other social media companies like Facebook faced widespread criticism for allowing election misinformation to spread across its services. It also restricted ads related to social causes.
鈥淲e believe political message reach should be earned, not bought,鈥� tweeted Jack Dorsey, Twitter鈥檚 then-chief executive, in announcing the move.
Since Musk took over Twitter in late October, corporate advertisers have fled in response to the Tesla CEO laying off thousands of employees, reversing the permanent suspension of former US President Donald Trump and rushing a paid verification feature that resulted in scammers impersonating publicly-listed companies on Twitter.
Last month, Musk defended his deep cost-cutting measures, and said Twitter had been facing 鈥渘egative cash flow鈥� of $3 billion next year.