Does Elon Musk need money? Twitter is bringing back political ads

Twitter eases ban on political ads CEO Elon Musk seems to want to make up for lost advertising revenue. But does that end up costing him even more advertisers?

Ever since Elon Musk took over Twitter, more and more advertisers have been turning their backs on the social media platform. A problem considering that Twitter is mainly made up of its advertising revenue funded.

But instead of trying to win back lost advertising partners, Musk apparently backs a different horse: He is bringing political advertising back to the platform.

Twitter eases ban on political ads

Just three years ago, Twitter, led by then-CEO and founder Jack Dorsey, decided to ban political advertising on the microblogging service. “We believe the reach of political messages should be earned, not bought,” Dorsey said in a statement at the time.

Like the news agency Bloomberg However, as recently announced, new CEO Elon Musk is now lifting this ban. In the coming weeks, the platform also wants to expand the permitted political advertising.

on Twitter the company also said it believes the new rule will facilitate public conversations about important issues.

Even more advertising on Twitter

In addition to political advertising, Twitter currently also allows some so-called issue ads and cause-based ads – i.e. event-related advertising for economic, ecological and social issues.

Political advertising was a small source of income for Twitter before it was banned by ex-CEO Dorsey. The company had less than $3 million in revenue during the 2018 US midterm elections.

In the current situation, however, the new easing could help fill the platform’s tight coffers a bit and stem recent losses in advertising revenue.

Not the only change since the acquisition

Ever since Elon Musk took over the microblogging platform for $44 billion, he has repeatedly accused the previous leadership of censorship. Without warning, he made far-reaching changes.

Among other things, the company abolished its Covid guidelines and thus accepted misinformation. The service also unlocked the previously suspended accounts of ex-US President Donald Trump and other right-wing figures.

In addition, Twitter also blocked the accounts of several US journalists who reported on Musk. The German press office was also closed in December 2022.

Is Elon Musk risking more losses on Twitter?

Advertisers such as Disney, Coca-Cola and Dyson were up in arms only last fall. Twitter had placed ads from ad partners next to child pornography. About 30 advertisers were affected.

With a look at some controversial accounts At the same time, the relaxed guidelines could steer Twitter even more in a direction that could annoy the remaining advertisers. According to media reports experts also fear that the platform could become a gathering place for hate speech, misinformation and conspiracy theories.

So the question arises as to whether the decision to allow Musk’s political advertising again will ultimately result in more losses than new revenues.

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