Twitter announced on Oct. 30 its decision to ban political ads on its platform. The new rule was created to prevent misinformation, which is becoming increasingly more important as the 2020 presidential election draws near.

On many social media platforms, ads can be created by any person or organization. When an ad is paid for, it appears on the social media feeds of users within its target audience. Unlike a post, which can spread only if users choose to like or share it, ads are spread automatically by the website.

Twitter’s political ad ban was created to prevent political messages from being spread just because somebody paid for them. Twitter CEO Jack Dorsey wrote, “A political message earns reach when people decide to follow an account or retweet. Paying for reach removes that decision, forcing… messages on people. We believe this decision should not be compromised by money.” He added that the decision was made to uphold Twitter’s mission to stop the spread of misinformation.

At first, the company considered only banning ads promoting political candidates. However, they realized legislative issue ads could be used as a way to work around the new rule. Twitter then decided to ban issue ads as well. Dorsey explained, “It isn’t fair for everyone but candidates to buy ads for issues they want to push.”

Twitter’s attitudes towards promoted political content are very different from its rival Facebook’s. Facebook has long refused to fact-check or remove political ads on its site. The company has considered banning political ads because they do not make up a significant amount of its business. However, Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerburg chose not to because he believes that banning certain ads would put a limit on free expression. He stated, “Ads can be an important part of voice… I believe the better approach is to work to increase transparency. “

Dorsey criticized Facebook in his statement announcing the new policy. He wrote, “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.”

The decision received mixed reactions from ordinary users and politicians alike. While some praised Twitter and urged other companies like Facebook and Google to follow suit, others accused the company of silencing voices.

Twitter’s final policy on political ads will be released on Nov. 15 and will go into effect on Nov. 22.

Photo courtesy of SLATE.COM