Twitter to expand permitted political advertising

Figurines with smartphones and computers are seen in front of the Twitter logo in this illustration, Nov 28, 2022. REUTERS/Dado Ruvic/Illustration

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 “cause-based ads” in the United States, and moving forward would align its advertising policy “with that of TV and other media outlets.”

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.

“We believe political message reach should be earned, not bought,” tweeted Jack Dorsey, Twitter’s 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 U.S. 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 “negative cash flow” of $3 billion next year.