By Deutsche Welle
Aug 30, 2023, 00:46 AM EDT
Elon Musk on Tuesday lifted the ban on political ads on X, a rule established to prevent misinformation before the mogul bought the social network formerly called Twitter.
X explained in a blog post that allowing political ads, starting in the United States, was a new step in his “commitment to free speech.”
Musk’s social network pointed out in the blog that it prohibits the promotion of false or misleading information, including false claims intended to undermine confidence in an election.
The return of potentially misleading political messages to X came less than a week after former President Donald Trump posted there for the first time since January 2021.
Trump posted the mugshot of his arrest in Georgia, signaling his return to a platform that was his favorite megaphone during his years in the White House (2017-2021).
It was the former president’s first post after the insurrection at the United States Capitol, when an angry mob of his supporters tried to block Joe Biden’s certification as president.
Then-Twitter permanently suspended Trump after the January 6 riots, ruling that he had violated the platform’s policy on glorifying violence by insisting on his false claims that his election had been stolen.
Musk, who bought the social network last year, allowed the former president to return to X in November 2022, but Trump stayed out, opting to reach out to his followers on his own platform, Truth Social, albeit with a much smaller audience. .
X said it is expanding its security and elections teams to focus on fighting platform manipulation and will provide an online hub where political ads can be reviewed.
Musk slashed his staff after buying Twitter, raising questions about his ability to moderate content and function reliably.
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