Twitter prohibited most political commercials in 2019. However, due to the new policy, the company intends to increase its political advertising on social media.
In the United States, the business has also announced that it is reforming its criteria for cause-related advertisements. About the following topics, such ads urge individuals to take action, teach, and raise awareness: civic engagement, economic prosperity, environmental protection, and social equity issues.
According to tweets from the Twitter Safety account, the firm will align its advertising policy with that of TV and other media outlets” in the coming weeks. Twitter did not respond to a request for comment right away but said that it will “share more information as this project develops.”
In November 2019, Twitter announced a ban on political advertising, following in the footsteps of social media competitor Facebook. “We believe political message reach should be earned, not bought,” Jack Dorsey, the then-CEO of Twitter, said of the decision.
AD Revenues at Twitter Have Nosedived Since Musk Took Over
The reform includes some limitations, allowing for advertisements promoting certain politics-related issues such as voting registration. Political advertising made up a tiny part of Twitter’s overall advertising revenue at the time.
Twitter’s income comes mostly from advertisements, like many social media firms. In October, Musk finalized his $44 billion purchase of Tesla. In 2021, advertising accounted for roughly 89% of the business’s $5.1 billion revenue.
When the takeover occurred amid uncertainty about how Mr. Musk would run the company, several firms suspended ad spending.
Musk sent out a message to advertisers and began meeting the advertising executives. He said, “Twitter obviously cannot become a free-for-all hellscape where anything can be said without consequences.”
According to a review of data from the research firm Pathmatics, as of Dec. 18, roughly 70% of Twitter’s top 100 ad spenders from before the takeover hadn’t spent on the platform.
