Twitter's CEO Jack Dorsey has announced that Twitter will no longer allow any form of political advertising anywhere on their site. This comes as a direct response to Facebook's refusal to vet and monitor paid political ads on their platform.
Twitter | @jack
Twitter Bans Political Ads Site-Wide After Facebook Refuses To Do So
Dorsey announced the change this Wednesday with a series of tweets.
Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg explained before Congress last week that the reason they will not be banning or fact-checking political ads is because the platform sees them as 'newsworthy', regardless of their validity.
Twitter's decision comes largely from the model through which political ads gain reach on the site.
Through a paid model, political ad reach on Twitter directly correlates to how much money is spent on the ad itself. This means that those who have the most disposable money to spend on ads have the highest reach and by proxy, the highest visibility.
As Doresy explained, this is dangerous for a number of reasons.
Having the richest among us have the largest influence on an election is a direct threat to democracy. Moreso, the concern is that these ads will be the most visible regardless of whether or not they contain true information.
We are in an age in which privilege allows people to quite literally buy the outcome of an election.
By banning political ads, Twitter is taking definitive measures in addressing this issue.
Facebook has yet to respond to Dorsey's announcement.
h/t: Twitter
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