Elon Musk lifts ban on political ads on rebranded Twitter

(Patria) - Elon Musk has lifted the ban on political ads on Twitter that was in place to prevent disinformation before the billionaire bought the platform, now called X, AFP reported.

The welcoming of potentially misleading political messages back to X came less than a week after former president Donald Trump posted on the platform for the first time since January 2021. He posted his mugshot after his arrest in Georgia, hinting at a return to the platform that was his favorite during his White House tenure.

It was his first post since the January 6th Capitol riot when his supporters tried to block the certification of Joe Biden as president. Twitter at the time permanently suspended Trump after the January 6th riots, saying he violated the platform's policy on glorifying violence as he spread his false claims that the election was stolen.

Musk, who bought the platform last year, reinstated the former president's account in November 2022, but Trump remained on the sidelines, choosing to advertise on his own platform Truth Social, albeit with a much smaller audience.

X said in a blog post that allowing political ads, starting in the United States, "builds on our commitment to free expression." X's policy prohibits the promotion of false or misleading information, including false claims intended to undermine confidence in an election, the blog states.

Trump's recent mugshot post came with the caption "Election Interference".
X said it is expanding its safety and elections teams to focus on combating platform manipulation and will provide an online hub where political ads can be reviewed. Musk slashed staff numbers after buying Twitter, raising concerns about its ability to moderate content and function reliably.

X said it is updating its Civic Integrity Policy to protect elections to tackle content intended to intimidate or deceive voters, while aligning with Musk's philosophy of letting people say what they want.

"X should not be the arbiter of truth of controversial information," the platform stated in its blog post.

"Instead, we should empower our users to express their opinions and open debate during elections, in line with our commitment to protecting free expression," it added.