X, the microblogging platform, which was formerly known as Twitter has lifted the ban on political advertisements. This decision comes into force ahead of the 2024 US Presidential elections.
In 2019, prior to the takeover of the platform by Elon Musk, political ads were banned globally on Twitter. This year in January, ‘cause-based ads’ in the US were allowed to be featured that touched upon issues such as voter registration. It was further mentioned that it would expand on the different types of political ads that would be highlighted on the platform.
X stated that a global advertising transparency centre would be created that allowed users to take a look at the kind of political ads that were promoted on X. However, as a statement of contradiction, X brandished that it would prohibit political ads which sought to spread false information or undermine public confidence in an election.
In a blog post the company explained the move. “Starting in the US, we’ll continue to apply specific policies to paid-for promoted political posts. This will include prohibiting the promotion of false or misleading content, including false or misleading information intended to undermine public confidence in an election, while seeking to preserve free and open political discourse. We’ll also provide a global advertising transparency center so that everyone can review political posts being promoted on X, in addition to robust screening processes to ensure only eligible groups and campaigns are able to advertise.”
X is currently expanding it safety and elections teams to focus on combating manipulation, surfacing inauthentic accounts and closely monitoring the platform for emerging threats.