Elon Musk says he will bring back political advertising to Twitter after it took a three-year hiatus.
Speaking via his verified account on Tuesday, Musk said, “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”.
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.
— Twitter Safety (@TwitterSafety) January 3, 2023
Brand Spur Nigeria recalls that Twitter under the administration of Jack Dorsey had banned some forms of political advertising in 2019. Dorsey said political messaging should be earned and not bought. Targeted ads were not allowed unless they passed certain criteria.
It’s been a trying year for Twitter since Elon Musk acquired the tech firm in October 2022. After Musk’s $44bn bid to buy the platform was accepted in April he tried to pull out of the deal in July, before finally taking ownership in October. Since then he has been criticised for many decisions such as retrenching staff and creating a paid-for verification system.
Musk has said one of his goals in taking over Twitter was to loosen its rules about the kinds of content that would be allowed on the platform. The billionaire’s approach to content moderation has spooked major brands, some of which have paused their spending on Twitter to keep their ads from appearing alongside controversial tweets. That has caused Twitter’s revenue to fall significantly.
Twitter said on Tuesday that it would begin to permit cause-based advertising, which allows marketers to promote content about political issues. The company said it would later expand other forms of political advertising. Under its previous management, Twitter allowed cause-based advertising with some restrictions, including one that prevented advertisers from using microtargeting to reach specific groups of people.
In our view, the move could open Twitter to more revenue as it tries to lure advertisers back to the platform.
