3 years after Jack Dorsey decided to cancel All political ads on Twitter worldwide, the rules are changing.
Yesterday (January 3), the microblogging platform announced plans to “expand political advertising” that will be allowed in the coming weeks.
“Going forward, we will align our advertising policies with those of TV and other media outlets,” said the Twitter safety account. murmured“As with all policy changes, we will first ensure that our approach to content review and approval protects the people of Twitter.”
The scope of the change and timeline for implementation are not yet clear. Political advertising was intentionally banned on Twitter in 2019. Opting out of the 2020 election cycle Misinformation is rampant, moving away from a no-interference approach like Facebook and limiting the reach of political messages to “earned, did not buy” Given the small number The move was largely symbolic for Twitter’s number of political advertisers at the time.
The Problem of Online Political Advertising in the Words of Jack Dorsey
“Internet political advertising presents entirely new challenges to citizen discourse: machine learning-based optimization of messages and micro-targeting, unchecked misleading information, and deepfakes. Speed, sophistication, Everything is growing on an overwhelming scale.” —Co-Founder and Former CEO of Twitter Jack Dorseybanned both candidate- and issue-based advertising, with a few exceptions such as voter registration campaigns.
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Twitter is losing advertisers
The move comes at a time when advertisers are trying to get away from Twitter. Half of Twitter’s Top 100 Advertisers left the platform Since Elon Musk Acquisition in October. These include automakers Chevrolet, Ford and Jeep. Fast food chain Chipotle. and United Airlines.
The leak is motivated by a series of controversial decisions affecting the quality and safety of content shared on Twitter. Mask warranty To prevent Twitter from becoming a “hell that anyone can use freely”, Hate speech soared on the platform. Musk has reinstated users who were banned for inciting violence and discrimination. suddenly kick off againEnd of enforcement of . covid misinformation The policy was also misplaced.
Musk’s erratic enforcement of new policies also discouraged advertisers. A paid blue check mark subscription system that was launched twice failed to stop impersonation account Impersonating brands and celebrities, Tiered pricing Targeting Apple users.Recently, the platform Sudden link ban Fast only to competing platforms reverse course at backlash.
Plus, Musk’s Twitter is under pressure a few executives When Trust and Safety Advisor Out, and the millionaire chief’s twist is ready give up pole positionthat too.
For these and other reasons, the largest advertising agencies continue to warn the client Oppose advertising on Twitter. Ahead of the 2024 election cycle, political advertisers may be able to fill the void left by these companies.
One more thing: what is cause-based advertising and how is it changing?
Cause-based advertising is intended to “educate, raise awareness, and/or call on people to take action related to causes of civic engagement, economic growth, environmental stewardship, or social equity.” Refers to sponsored content. Climate change, or abortion. In such cases, Twitter will not only ensure that advertisers abide by its rules, Advertising policy In addition to completing the advertiser certification process, we also outline a set of restrictions that must be adhered to.
? Geo-targeting can be done at the state, province or region level and above, not at the zip code level
? Keyword and interest targeting is allowed, but terms related to political content, prohibited advertisers, or political leanings or affiliations (e.g., “conservative”, “liberal”, “political election”) cannot contain
?♀️ No other targeting types are allowed, including custom audiences
? Ads should not be “primarily aimed at promoting political, judicial, legislative or regulatory consequences.”
As of yesterday, the advertising policies page was updated to state that advertisers whose cause-based ads “target only within the United States” are exempt from the restriction. The Verge pointed outTwitter claims this mitigation helpful “Foster public conversation about important topics.”
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