In a recent statement, Twitter announced that it would soon be “relaxing” its current ban centered on political ads stemming from the most recent change from new CEO Elon Musk.
This past Tuesday night, the breaking news was highlighted in a pair of social media posts from the company’s Twitter Safety account.
“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,” explained the posts from the account.
“Moving forward, we will align our advertising policy with that of TV and other media outlets,” stated the company in a tweet. “As with all policy changes, we will first ensure that our approach to reviewing and approving content protects people on Twitter. We’ll share more details as this work progresses.”
Moving forward, we will align our advertising policy with that of TV and other media outlets. As with all policy changes, we will first ensure that our approach to reviewing and approving content protects people on Twitter. We'll share more details as this work progresses.
— Twitter Safety (@TwitterSafety) January 3, 2023
Back in 2019, Twitter issued a wholesale ban against all political ads due to its concerns about misinformation while under the leadership of co-founder Jack Dorsey.
This recent announcement was issued in the wake of controversy due to the social media titan losing a large number of its prime advertisers while under the leadership of Musl. As explained by Politico, close to 90% of the revenue for Twitter was coming from advertising prior to the buyout from Musk. While under his leadership, the company started utilizing an $8 monthly Twitter Blue subscription service and has reduced costs by reducing a significant number of its staff and downsizing office space.
The most recent change could even soon see a more stable source of revenue for the company, especially as the 2024 presidential election season quickly approaches.
Back in 2018, the political advertising for the platform managed to secure just under $3 million. As the new CEO, Musk is most likely expecting to take in additional funds due to the spike in political spending which often puts focus on television and other media types throughout an election cycle.
Twitter could also try and siphon off some of the political advertising dollars normally spent on other large tech platforms. Both YouTube and Facebook continue to allow political ads to appear on their platforms, but TikTok still does not.
To go along with these political ads, the changes could also have an impact on “issue-based” ads that address various social issues and other causes, highlighting new opportunities for both Twitter and cause-oriented marketers.
