Twitter says it will ease up on its 3-year-old ban on political advertising, the latest change by Elon Musk as he tries to pump up revenue after purchasing the social media platform last year.
The company tweeted late Tuesday that “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,” the company said from its Twitter Safety account.
Twitter banned all political advertising in 2019, reacting to growing concern about misinformation spreading on social media.
At the time, then-CEO Jack Dorsey said that while internet ads are powerful and effective for commercial advertisers, “that power brings significant risks to politics, where it can be used to influence votes to affect the lives of millions.”
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The latest move appears to represent a break from that policy, which had banned ads by candidates, political parties, or elected or appointed government officials.
Political advertising made up a sliver of Twitter’s overall revenue, accounting for less than $3 million of total spending for the 2018 U.S. midterm election.
In reversing the ban, Twitter said that “cause-based advertising can facilitate public conversation around important topics” and that the change will align the platform’s advertising policy with those of “TV and other media outlets,” without providing further details.
Facebook in March 2021 lifted its ban on political and social issue ads that was put in place after the 2020 U.S. presidential election.
Musk bills himself as a free-speech warrior and bought Twitter because he apparently believed it wasn’t living up to its potential as a free speech platform. But the billionaire Tesla CEO has been forced to make huge cost cuts and scramble to find more sources of revenue to justify the $44 billion purchase.
Elon Musk and Twitter: A timeline
January 31: Musk begins building up his Twitter stake
Musk starts quietly buying up Twitter shares, building his stake in the company. But it would be months before he disclosed this fact to the public.
March 14: Musk's Twitter stake tops 5%
Musk's stake in Twitter tops 5%, but that fact is not disclosed until the following month. Musk was obligated to disclose his stake within 10 days of crossing the 5% threshold, but waited 21 days to do so. During that time, he continued building up his stake.
March 24: Asking whether Twitter should change
The billionaire begins to make pointed statements about the platform from his account. "Twitter algorithm should be open source," he wrote, with a poll for users to vote "yes" or "no."
The following day, Musk tweets out another poll to his followers: "Free speech is essential to a functioning democracy. Do you believe Twitter rigorously adheres to this principle?"
April 29: Musk cashes out billions in Tesla stock
Filings reveal Musk sold $8.5 billion of his Tesla stock in the three days after Twitter board agreed to the sale for an average of $883.09 per share. The filings did not disclose the reason for the sale, but Musk appeared to be raising funds to buy Twitter.
May 10: Musk says he would reinstate Trump's account
Musk confirms what many have assumed for weeks: he would reverse Twitter's Trump ban if his deal to buy the company is completed.
"I do think it was not correct to ban Donald Trump, I think that was a mistake," Musk said. "I would reverse the perma-ban. ... Banning Trump from Twitter didn't end Trump's voice, it will amplify it among the right and this is why it's morally wrong and flat out stupid."
