As part of the most recent policy change implemented by the company’s new owner Elon Musk, Twitter Inc. stated it intends to increase the amount of political advertising it permits on the social media platform.
The business also disclosed on Tuesday that it is easing its stance on cause-related advertisements in the United States. These advertisements urge viewers to support the following causes: social justice, economic development, environmental protection, and civic involvement. They also urge viewers to educate themselves and spread awareness.
According to tweets from the Twitter Safety account, the business stated that it would “match our advertising policy with that of TV and other media channels” in the upcoming weeks. That was not explained, and it promised to “provide more details as this work develops.” An inquiry for comment was not immediately answered by Twitter.
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In contrast to social media rival Facebook at the time, Twitter largely outlawed political advertisements in November 2019. “We believe political message reach should be earned, not bought,” Twitter CEO Jack Dorsey remarked in reference to the choice.
A few exceptions to the rule permitted for advertisements in support of certain political causes, like voter registration. The majority of Twitter’s overall advertising revenue at the time didn’t come from political advertising.
Since Mr. Musk completed his $44 billion acquisition of the company in October, the question of advertising in general has been hotly debated. Like many social media companies, the majority of Twitter’s $5.1 billion in income in 2021 came from advertisements, accounting for about 89% of the company’s total revenue.
Following the takeover, some businesses halted their advertising on the site because to concerns about Mr. Musk’s intended management style.
Advertisers’ worries were allayed by Mr. Musk, who tweeted, “Twitter certainly cannot become a free-for-all hellscape, where anything can be said with no consequences!” Additionally, he started to meet with prominent advertising executives and made himself available for one-on-one client meetings.
Since Elon Musk came over, Twitter has been in disarray. The Wall Street Journal met with former Tesla and SpaceX employees to gain insight into what goes on behind the scenes and learn more about Musk’s management style. Ryan Trefes, for instance
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An examination of data from the research firm Pathmatics revealed that as of December 18, roughly 70% of the top 100 advertisers on Twitter from before the takeover had stopped using the service.
“Twitter’s judgment today is a clear victory for free speech, but it remains to be seen how it will affect the company’s bottom line,” said Reid Vineis, vice president of the Republican-serving political advertising firm Majority Strategies. Twitter will have to demonstrate once more that a virtual town square can influence voters and decision-makers.
“We embrace any means to interact with people,” said Nathaniel Kronisch, CEO of Buying Time Digital, a firm that purchases advertisements for Democrats. In that regard, it’s a development that is good. We obviously have a wait-and-see attitude for the near future.
Mr. Musk has been attempting to diversify Twitter’s revenue streams while courting advertisers by doing something that few, if any, social media businesses have been able to do at scale: launching a lucrative subscription service.
Twitter is now offering users the blue check mark that was formerly connected to verified accounts as well as other premium features for $8 for those who join up on a web browser and $11 for those who sign up on an Apple Inc. mobile device after a few botched rollouts. It was impossible to estimate the number of Twitter subscribers.
Before Elon Musk assumed control in the first half of 2022, Twitter recorded $195 million in subscription and other non-ad revenue. The business claimed sales of advertising for the same time period of around $2.2 billion.
