Jack Dorsey tweeted the change, saying the company recognizes that advertising on social media offers an unfair level of targeting compared to other mediums.
We’ve made the decision to stop all political advertising on Twitter globally. We believe political message reach should be earned, not bought. Why? A few reasons…🧵
— jack 🌍🌏🌎 (@jack) October 30, 2019
"We've made the decision to stop all political advertising on Twitter globally," Dorsey tweeted "We believe political message reach should be earned, not bought. Why? A few reasons."
A political message earns reach when people decide to follow an account or retweet. Paying for reach removes that decision, forcing highly optimized and targeted political messages on people. We believe this decision should not be compromised by money.
— jack 🌍🌏🌎 (@jack) October 30, 2019
"A political message earns reach when people decide to follow an account or retweet. Paying for reach removes that decision, forcing highly optimized and targeted political messages on people. We believe this decision should not be compromised by money," Dorsey wrote in a subsequent tweet.
Dorsey said Twitter would share the company's final policy Nov. 15 and will begin enforcing it Nov. 22. There will be some exceptions, Dorsey tweeted. For example, ads supporting voter registration will still be allowed.
Facebook has been criticized since it revealed earlier this month that it would not fact-check advertisements by politicians, according to The Associated Press. Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg told Congress last week politicians have the right to free speech on his social media platform, the AP reported.
A final note. This isn’t about free expression. This is about paying for reach. And paying to increase the reach of political speech has significant ramifications that today’s democratic infrastructure may not be prepared to handle. It’s worth stepping back in order to address.
— jack 🌍🌏🌎 (@jack) October 30, 2019
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