Budapest Post

Cum Deo pro Patria et Libertate
Budapest, Europe and world news

Twitter Is Banning Political Ads Seeking Votes Or Money

Twitter Is Banning Political Ads Seeking Votes Or Money

“We’re absolutely going to make mistakes here. But we firmly believe that it’s better for us to start getting it right and giving people ways to tell us how it’s wrong.”
Twitter revealed a long-awaited political ads policy on Friday that banned paid content from candidates, political parties, and government officials, but allowed advertisers to raise awareness around certain causes including environmental issues and social equity.

The policy, which will go into effect next week, will prohibit political ads that reference candidates, parties, government officials, ballot measures, legislation, regulation, directives, or judicial outcomes. It will also ban ads that appeal for votes or solicit financial support for political causes.

When CEO Jack Dorsey announced the company’s initial plan last month, critics wondered how Twitter would define paid political content, much less enforce a complete ban on it. Its policy, however, carves out certain exemptions -including some for news publishers -and will allow for companies and organizations to run ads that advocate for certain causes with some restrictions.

BuzzFeed News had previously reported about Twitter’s plans through discussions the San Francisco-based company was having with advertisers. In those meetings earlier this month, Twitter staffers suggested that ads that spread awareness about issues of national significance would still be allowed, while those advocating for candidates or legislation would be banned.

In a call with reporters on Friday, Twitter’s senior leadership acknowledged that the policy would evolve over time and that the company, which will use a combination of algorithms and human moderators to flag prohibited political ads, will run into problems.

“We’re absolutely going to make mistakes here,” said Vijaya Gadde, Twitter’s legal and policy head. “But we firmly believe that it’s better for us to start getting it right and giving people ways to tell us how it’s wrong.”

In the US, the company said that advertisements from political action committees and tax-exempt social welfare organizations, or 501(c)(4)s, would be prohibited. Twitter will allow, however, advertisements from approved news publishers that reference political coverage but not ads with content that's for or against a political issue. For example, a newspaper can run ads highlighting its coverage of President Donald Trump, but it cannot publish ads that highlight its editorial board’s endorsement of a certain candidate.

The social network will also permit certain “cause-based” advertising without discrimination based on the point of view of those ads, ranging from fracking advocacy to calls to combat global warming. That stated neutrality is in contradiction to fears raised by presidential candidate and Massachusetts Sen. Elizabeth Warren, who suggested that Twitter would allow ads from fossil fuel companies while preventing ads from climate change activists, and by Texas Sen. Ted Cruz, who raised fears about bias in Twitter’s new policy on Monday.

“The Star Chamber’s Censorship Rules get more incoherent,” he tweeted. “Simpler restatement of their policy: ‘Lefty PC propaganda will be allowed; actual “facts” will not. Trust us. We’re Silicon Valley billionaires. And we know best.’”

Twitter’s new policy would still allow those ads from activists so long as they do not “have the primary goal of driving political, judicial, legislative, or regulatory outcomes” and are tied to an organization’s “publicly stated values.”

For cause-based advertising, organizations must go through a certification process and will only be allowed to target users down to the state or province level, not by zip codes. Those advertisers will also be prevented from targeting based on keywords or terms associated with politics, including “liberal” or “conservative.”

Del Harvey, vice president of trust and safety, said that Twitter would maintain a public list of non-targetable words for the sake of transparency. She also noted that Twitter did not anticipate any significant financial impact to its business because of the policy change.

When Dorsey announced late last month that Twitter would “stop all political advertising,” the San Francisco–based company was praised by the likes of former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, Democratic presidential candidate Joe Biden, and Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez.

Others criticized Twitter, arguing that the policy would favor political incumbents by preventing challengers from gaining name recognition. Trump’s campaign manager, Brad Parscale, called it a move to “silence conservatives.”

On Friday’s call, Gadde and Harvey noted that there will be a learning process in determining what ads are appropriate and acknowledged that bad actors would try to game the system.

“We fully expect this to evolve over time,” said Harvey. The new policy will go into effect on Nov. 22.
AI Disclaimer: An advanced artificial intelligence (AI) system generated the content of this page on its own. This innovative technology conducts extensive research from a variety of reliable sources, performs rigorous fact-checking and verification, cleans up and balances biased or manipulated content, and presents a minimal factual summary that is just enough yet essential for you to function as an informed and educated citizen. Please keep in mind, however, that this system is an evolving technology, and as a result, the article may contain accidental inaccuracies or errors. We urge you to help us improve our site by reporting any inaccuracies you find using the "Contact Us" link at the bottom of this page. Your helpful feedback helps us improve our system and deliver more precise content. When you find an article of interest here, please look for the full and extensive coverage of this topic in traditional news sources, as they are written by professional journalists that we try to support, not replace. We appreciate your understanding and assistance.
Newsletter

Related Articles

0:00
0:00
Close
Russia’s A7 Builds a State-Linked Payments Network Beyond Western Sanctions
AI’s Next Bottleneck Is Power, Not Just Nvidia Chips
Meta Raises AI Spending Target to as Much as $145bn Despite Pressure Over Returns
Danube Drought Exposes Nazi Wrecks and Pushes Central Europe’s Power System to the Brink
Joe Biden’s Cancer Has Spread Beyond His Bones, Hunter Biden Says
Why 2027 Could Be a Strong Year for Stocks—and Why the Forecast Is Fragile
Why Markets May Look Quiet in August After Big Tech Earnings
UK Drought Cuts Harvests and Raises Food-Security Fears
UFO: Pentagon Releases Video of Unidentified Object Tracked Over Middle East
Ukraine Tells Senate Republicans Its Drone War Offers a Blueprint for America
Weight-Loss Drug Boom Tests the Limits of Prescription Advertising Rules
Senate Scrutinises AI-Driven Personalised Pricing
Spain Seeks Mainland Transfers for 1,100 Children Stranded in Ceuta
Spain and Morocco Trade Blame After 72,000 Migrants Enter Ceuta
AI Is Remaking the US Economy, From GDP Growth to iPhone Prices
Europe’s Heat and Drought Are Now Disrupting Power, Shipping and Tourism
Europe’s Drying Rivers Trigger Power Cuts, Factory Shutdowns and Wildfire Emergencies
Record-Low Danube Forces Nuclear Cuts and Emergency Power Curbs
Danube Drought Forces Hungary’s Paks Nuclear Plant Into Full Shutdown
Ceuta Death Toll Rises as Spain and Europe Clash Over Border Response
Valued at $109 Million: F-35B Fighter Jet Crashes in Southern California
Record-Low Danube Exposes Probable Mammoth Remains in Bulgaria
US Says It Has Carried Out Heavy Strikes on Iran After Attempted Attacks on Its Forces
The AI User Nightmare: Private Claude Conversations Leaked to the Internet
Over 24 Hours in the Air: Qantas Airbus Completes Record-Breaking Test Flight
Massive Wildfires Ravage Southern Europe: Fatalities in Greece and Evacuations Across France, Spain, and Turkey
Nvidia Reportedly Takes Vast Texas Data-Centre Lease to Underwrite AI Expansion
FIFA’s Private-Investment Plan for World Cup Rights Draws European Revolt
Apple Briefly Crosses Five Trillion Dollar Valuation as Investors Retreat From AI Bets
Fresh Heatwave Threatens to Rekindle France’s Historic Wildfire Crisis
Following OpenAI's Cyberattack: 'Most Companies Still Do Not Understand What Is Coming'
OpenAI Sued After ChatGPT Allegedly Discouraged Emergency Care Before Near-Fatal Embolism
Miliband Sets Climate and International Law at Centre of UK Diplomacy
Czech Central Bank Governor Rejects Early Euro Entry and Rate-Cut Pressure
Trump Readies New Tariffs as Temporary Global Levy Nears Expiry
Vivienne Westwood Casts Cicciolina, 74, in Its New Autumn Campaign
Dejavu: Germany’s Military Expansion Reshapes Europe’s Strategic Balance With France
Morgan Stanley Builds a Wall Street Lead in AI Infrastructure Finance
High Prices Push Coffee Drinkers Toward Whole Beans and Home Brewing
Trump Draws Boos and Podium Scrutiny at Spain’s World Cup Triumph
Brilliant move: Péter Magyar Moves to Nominate Chess Grandmaster Judit Polgár as Hungary’s President
Spain Defeats Argentina in Extra Time to Win Second World Cup
Current AI Seeks to Build an Open Global AI Infrastructure Outside Big Tech Control
Germany’s Economic Malaise Reopens the Sunday Shopping Debate
Proposed U.S.-Saudi Nuclear Pact Could Permit Limited Uranium Enrichment Under International Safeguards
Netherlands Declares Water Shortage Emergency After Drought Pushes Rivers to Historic Lows
Why Kentucky Fried Chicken Became KFC—and Why the False Explanations Persist
Ukrainian Drones Strike Wildberries Warehouses Deep Inside Russia
Reported CIA Mission Helped Clear the UAE’s Path to Advanced US AI Chips
Artificial Intelligence Capital Fuels Markets While Governments and Regulators Face Mounting Strategic Tests
×