Twitter plans to relax its longstanding ban on cause-based ads in the US and will expand the political advertising the company permits in the coming weeks
Elon Musk's social media service said it would begin to permit cause-based advertising to “facilitate public conversation around important topics.”
New York TimesKate Conger
Context & Ripple Effects
Twitter’s 2019 policy barred political ads globally while preserving only narrowly targeted cause-based advertising and certain issue-related reporting. The new US policy moves away from that categorical restriction.
The shift also follows Musk’s discussion with advertisers about improving ad relevance and brand verification, tying a more permissive political-ad policy to Twitter’s effort to make its ad business workable for brands.
First-order effects
US cause-based advertisers regain access to Twitter promotion under looser rules, while political advertisers are set to receive broader permitted formats in the coming weeks.
Twitter must now define and enforce the boundary between allowed cause-based and political campaigns rather than rely on its earlier broad prohibition.
Second-order effects
Twitter’s ad-sales operation gains a new inventory category, making its relevance and brand-verification commitments more consequential for advertisers deciding whether to buy adjacent placements.
Advocacy groups and political advertisers that had been excluded by the 2019 rules can redirect campaign spending toward Twitter as its US policy opens.
Third-order effects
If Twitter continues replacing categorical speech restrictions with narrower permissions, political advertising on the platform will depend more heavily on operational enforcement and advertiser controls than on outright bans.
The move points to a platform-governance model in which commercial access for political speech expands alongside advertiser-suitability systems, rather than being separated from them.
The trend: Twitter is moving from broad political-ad restrictions toward a more permissive, advertiser-managed approach to political and issue speech.
@censelio@mastodon.social
@censelio@mastodon.social on mastodon
Twitter reverses longstanding ban on political advertising The policy was put in place under then CEO Jack Dorsey, who said he believed political messages should be earned - not bought https://www.washingtonpost.com/ ...
@twittersafety
@twittersafety on x
Moving forward, we will align 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.
@jason_kint
Jason Kint on x
Terrible signal to public to do this. Mirroring broadcast policy isn't enough. social media uniquely allows for velocity and reach of political disinfo in ads while microtargeting users. unlike broadcast, this microtargeting suppresses counterspeech. 1/2 https://www.politico.com/…
Twitter Safety
Twitter Safety on x
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 US. We also plan to expand the political advertising we permit in the coming weeks.
@whotargetsme
@whotargetsme on x
Upside: - Aligns with FB/YT policies - Helps accounts with fewer followers be heard (e.g. Biden had way, way fewer followers than Trump in 2020)
@cameronwilson
Cameron Wilson on x
it was kind of a fraught policy: gas companies could buy ads promoting their work but climate change advocacy groups couldn't. Still, it was banned after the 2016 US election foreign interference — wonder if we'll hear about any safeguards
@jamesrbuk
James Ball on x
A major policy shift without a public poll? Mere weeks after Musk said those wouldn't happen? Surely not! https://twitter.com/...
@grogsgamut
Greg Jericho on x
Cripes. A terrible decision that also lets everyone know their advertising revenue has completely tanked https://twitter.com/...
@yoda
Drew Olanoff on x
translation: we're screwed and will take money from anyone https://twitter.com/...
@whotargetsme
@whotargetsme on x
Downside: - Does Twitter have anyone left to actually enforce a complex policy like political ads?
@z3dster
@z3dster on x
Twitter, which banned political ads in the fall out of 2016, The Internet Research Agency, and Cambridge Analytica, to once again allow political and issue based ads on their platform https://twitter.com/...
@edzitron
Ed Zitron on x
please advertise with us please advertise with us please advertise with us please advertise with us please advertise with us please advertise with us please advertise with us please advertise with us PLEASE!!! https://twitter.com/...
@adrianweckler
Adrian Weckler on x
Twitter's revenue has fallen sharply, so it's “relaxing” its ads policy https://twitter.com/...
@lmatsakis
Louise Matsakis on x
Twitter previously banned interest groups from micro-targeting and it banned political advertising all together. troubling to see this change https://twitter.com/... https://twitter.com/...
@evelyndouek
Evelyn Douek on x
i see they found a live wire they hadn't touched yet https://twitter.com/...
@brerva
@brerva on x
Get your block button ready. https://twitter.com/...
@brettpransky
Brett Pransky on x
Every single move he makes is designed to let the fascists in and make them comfortable. https://twitter.com/...
@whotargetsme
@whotargetsme on x
Finally, Twitter must turn its ad transparency tools back on - and improve them. The ones they shut down back when they originally stopped taking political ads were a total joke.