Twitter asks for more transparency from users buying ads related to political issues
In its ongoing efforts to improve the Twitter Inc. experience and curtail the actions of “bad actors,” the company will now ask anyone posting about issues related to public policy to verify their location and identity.
In a blog post Thursday, Twitter said the move was a “U.S.-specific Issue Ads Policy and certification process” and will affect anyone posting content related to political candidates or any serious issues advocating legislation:
“Examples of legislative issues of national importance include topics such as abortion, civil rights, climate change, guns, healthcare, immigration, national security, social security, taxes, and trade. These are the top-level issues we are considering under this policy, and we expect this list to evolve over time.”
Users who post content will have to go through a certification process and the ad will be labeled as an “issue.” Other users will then be able to see who is running the ad and will also have access to more information about that person or organization.
This another step toward creating more transparency around political or sensitive issues, something the company started last year when it announced its “Transparency Center.” This made it possible for Twitter and also non-Twitter users to see who was behind political campaigns, the reach the posts had, as well as how much was spent on the ad.
News organizations are exempt from the certification process. “We don’t believe that news organizations running ads on Twitter that report on these issues, rather than advocate for or against them, should be subject to this policy,” said the company.
In another post, Twitter outlined what qualifies as a news organization. That would mean having a dedicated website, contact information and an “About” page, as well as having an archive and a list of editorial staff and some information about them. The organization must also a website with at least 200,000 unique U.S. visitors in the U.S.
News organizations will have to apply for this exemption, while journalists with their own pages will also have to apply and meet a certain criteria.
The move comes just a week before Twitter Chief Executive Officer Jack Dorsey will testify before Congress over issues related to foreign manipulation of U.S. elections and policies and what Twitter is doing to curb such activity.
Image: Mobilus In Mobili via Flickr
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