Twitter has announced it is ending it’s ban on political advertising, claiming the move aligns itself with that of traditional media outlets.
Twitter originally stopped accepting political advertising in October 2019 as then-CEO Jack Dorsey announced it was anticipation of the upcoming 2020 election. We believe political message reach should be earned, not bought,” Dorsey tweeted. “A political message earns reach when people decide to follow an account or retweet. Paying for reach removes that decision, forcing highly optimized and targeted political messages on people. We believe this decision should not be compromised by money.”
Now owned by Elon Musk, Twitter Safety has reversed course on it’s previous ban. “We believe that cause-based advertising can facilitate public conversation around important topics,” the company tweeted. “Today, we’re relaxing our ads policy for cause-based ads in the US. We also plan to expand the political the political advertising we permit in the coming weeks.
“Moving forward, we will alling our advertising policy with that of TV and other media outlets. As with all policy changes, we will first ensure that our approach to reviewing and approving content protects people on Twitter. We’ll share more details as this work progresses.”
The social media platform has experienced a massive drop in advertising revenue after it was purchased by Musk in 2022. According to a report from NPR, 50 of the platform’s top 100 advertisers left after it was purchased by Musk.
In November, The New York Post reported advertising agencies were advising clients to “pause” their spending with Twitter. “A lot of high profile chief marketing officers are very worried about Twitter,” The Post reported. “They’re working with agencies to create contingency plans for moving money away from Twitter.”
