An announcement by Twitter, on Twitter, says that the company is going to relax its ban on cause-based ads (such as those for climate change or women’s rights). They also plan on lifting their own restricitions on political advertising.
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
Political ad bans. In 2019, Twitter banned political ads. Last year they also banned political fundraising and started requiring that accounts belonging to government departments, politicians, and political parties be verified.
Cause-based bans. Their current policy surrounding cause-based ads restricts those that educate, raise awareness, and/or call for people to take action in connection with civic engagement, economic growth, environmental stewardship, or social equity causes. Their help documentation states:
Advertising should not be used to drive political, judicial, legislative, or regulatory outcomes; however, cause-based advertising can facilitate public conversation around important topics.
Advertising that uses micro-targeting presents entirely new challenges to civic discourse that are not yet fully understood.
So why the change? Unclear. It’s also unknown exactly what will change with the loosening of the policies outside of what’s mentioned in the tweet. But CEO Elon Musk is getting a reputation for shaking things up, implementing policies, then immediately removing them, and has a special penchant for getting the platform’s largest advertisers to jump ship.
Why we care. I’m not sure if lifting the bans will scare away the little remaining advertisers on the platform, bring any back, or draw in more from less-than-credible sources. But if you’re working for a cause-based organization, this can be good news for you- if you can navigate the platform, get verified, and stand out in a sea of would-be fraudsters, political opposition, and/or corrupt accounts.
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