X (Twitter) reopens doors for political ads

X, formerly known as Twitter, will once again allow political ads on its platform. The social network was banned this type of advertising worldwide in 2019, but Elon Musk’s management promised to lift the measure in January of this year. The change comes just as the key months of the next U.S. presidential election, scheduled for 2024, begin.

Jack Dorsey, CEO of Twitter in 2019, defended the ban on political ads, arguing that “message reach is to be earned, not bought.” In this sense, the social network has banned any content related to a candidate, party, official or election.

Twitter began allowing ads for specific reasons in the US in January of this year. For example, those who educate or raise awareness about issues such as voter registration, climate change, or government programs such as the census. In a post about Blogthe company said last Tuesday that it would protect “the right of the individual to precise and confident political speech”.

Elon Musk’s company explained that along with the possibility of showing political ads, a global center for advertising transparency will be created. Twitter assured that this would allow users to view political posts advertised in X. In addition, he explained, they would implement “rigorous screening processes” to ensure that only eligible groups and campaigns can advertise.

Twitter, political advertising and disinformation campaigns

Twitter and Elon Musk could benefit from the millions of dollars sold to political ads ahead of the US presidential election. the company’s ad sales fell 59% in April, compared to the same period last year. However, the company says the move is driven by its commitment to free speech.

The social network, according to a statement on its blog, will ban the promotion of false or misleading content designed to “undermine public confidence in the elections.” At the same time, it will strive to support “free and open political speech”. But with Musk, nothing is known

In mid-August, users noticed how the platform was slowing down traffic to the websites of companies that Musk had publicly feuded with. Among them was The newspaper “New York Timesone of the largest media outlets in the US.

In recent months, the social network has also loosened other measures aimed at curbing hate speech on the platform. Consequently, various investigations have shown how much misogynistic and xenophobic publications have increased under Musk’s leadership.