WASHINGTON ― Twitter Inc will reverse its 2019 ban on political ads, the company’s head of trust and safety confirmed to Reuters, as the Elon Musk-owned company seeks to grow revenue.
The company tweeted it would relax its advertising policy for “cause-based ads” in the United States and align its ad policy with TV and other media outlets.
The change brings Twitter’s policies closer to Meta Platform’s Facebook and Alphabet Inc’s YouTube, which allow political advertising. One platform that still bans political ads is Chinese video app TikTok.
“We believe that cause-based advertising can facilitate public conversation around important topics,” the social media company tweeted.
Cause-based ads that will be allowed on Twitter include ads that educate or raise awareness of issues such as voter registration, climate change or government programs like the Census, said Ella Irwin, Twitter’s head of trust and safety, in an email.
Twitter banned political ads in 2019 after it and other social media companies faced widespread criticism for allowing election misinformation to spread. 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.
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