The social networking site Twitter will no longer accept any political advertising, as announced by its co-founder, Jack Dorsey.
“We have decided to put an end to all political advertising on Twitter around the world. We believe that the scope of a political message should be won, not bought, “he said.
This was followed by a series of posts in which Dorsey explained the reasons that led to this decision. As he said, the new policy of the platform will start to be implemented from November 22. This means that the ban will apply during the upcoming British elections.
A week later, more details will be announced as well as the exceptions that will apply: for example, he noted that urging voters to register on the voter lists will be allowed to vote.
Because Twitter bans political ads
“We have decided to stop all political advertising on Twitter worldwide. We believe that where the political message reaches should be won, not bought, “said Jack Dorsey in a statement.
“While online advertising is surprisingly powerful and very effective for commercial advertisers, this force poses significant risks to politics, where it can be used to influence voters and affect the lives of millions,” he said.
“It simply came to our notice then. This is about paying to have a response. And this, when it comes to political discourse, has a significant impact that the current structure of democracy may not be ready to handle. It’s worth taking a step back to deal with it, “Dorsey concluded, citing the ban.
This policy contradicts that chosen by Facebook. Recently, its founder, Mark Zuckerberg, defended the existence of political messages on his network, arguing that it was freedom of expression.
Source: Twitter
