(SAN FRANCISCO) — Twitter is banning all political advertising from its service, saying social media companies give advertisers an unfair advantage in proliferating highly targeted, misleading messages.
Facebook has taken fire since it disclosed earlier in October that it will not fact-check ads by politicians or their campaigns, which could allow them to lie freely. CEO Mark Zuckerberg told Congress last week that politicians have the right to free speech on Facebook.
Twitter CEO Jack Dorsey tweeted the change Wednesday, saying the company is recognizing that advertising on social media offers an unfair level of targeting compared to other mediums.
The majority of money spent on political advertising in the U.S. goes to television ads.
Twitter's policy will start on November 22.
Associated Press