Twitter to lift three-year ban on political advertising

San Francisco: In an apparent reversal of its 2019 global prohibition on political ads, Elon Musk-owned Twitter Inc. announced on Tuesday that it would allow more sorts of political advertisements on the social media site.

In a tweet, the firm announced that it will ease its ban on "cause-based ads" in the United States and that going forward, it would harmonise its advertising guidelines "with that of TV and other media outlets."

2019 saw Twitter outlaw political advertising following harsh criticism directed at it and other social media platforms like Facebook for permitting the spread of false information about elections. Additionally, it prohibited commercials for social purposes, Reuters reported.

"We believe political message reach should be earned, not bought," tweeted Jack Dorsey, Twitter's then-chief executive, in announcing the move.

Since Musk took over Twitter in late October, corporate advertisers have fled as a result of the Tesla CEO firing thousands of workers, reversing Donald Trump's permanent suspension, and rushing a paid verification tool that led to scammers posing as publicly listed companies on Twitter.

Last month, Musk defended his drastic cost-cutting tactics and said that Twitter would have a $3 billion "negative cash flow" next year.