X to permit political advertisements before 2024 elections.
X to Allow Political Advertising in the United States
X has made an exciting announcement on Aug. 29, stating that it will now allow political advertising from candidates and political parties in the United States. This decision marks a significant reversal of the ban that was implemented back in October 2019 when the platform was still known as Twitter.
“During elections, X works to get in front of a range of tactics that people use to target the process,” the Elon Musk-owned company said in a blog post. “To do this we hire the right people, update our policies and evolve our product.”
Twitter’s previous chief executive, Jack Dorsey, justified the restrictive policy by stating, “We believe political message reach should be earned, not bought.” However, X has now decided to embrace political advertising once again.
Enhanced Policies to Combat False Information
While allowing paid-for political ads back, X has promised to enhance its policies to combat the spread of false information. The company stated in a blog post, “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.”
X will also provide a global advertising transparency center, allowing everyone to review political posts being promoted on the platform. Additionally, robust screening processes will ensure that only eligible groups and campaigns can advertise.
In December 2022, X introduced Community Notes, a crowdsourced fact-checking system available globally. This feature allows users to become Community Notes moderators, enabling them to add contextual notes to posts. Users can then vote on the accuracy and helpfulness of the added context.
All paid-for “promoted” posts, including promoted political content, are eligible for Community Notes, according to X’s blog post. The company believes in empowering users to express their opinions and openly debate during elections, while protecting freedom of expression.
Maintaining Civic Integrity
During elections, X will maintain its civic integrity policy, which prohibits manipulating or interfering in elections or other civic processes. The company is updating this policy to strike the right balance between tackling harmful content and not censoring political debate.
This enforcement aligns with X’s ”Freedom of Speech, Not Reach” philosophy. Posts that violate the platform’s policies will have limited visibility and will be labeled publicly so that users are aware of the limitations.
The Aug. 29 announcement came shortly after Mr. Musk’s latest tweak to X, which removed the ability for users to block other accounts. Mr. Musk, the owner of X, stated, “Block is going to be deleted as a ‘feature,’ except for [direct messages].”
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