Twitter joins the fight for US election integrity

Zoee Widener
Sep 4, 2018 · 2 min read

This week I read an article on Marketing Land called “Twitter to enforce new rules around issue ads starting September 30.” The title caught my eye because a common topic in many of my classes, as of late, has been surveillance, as far as media and the government is concerned and this seemed to relate to that topic that has been on my mind.

The article was about how Twitter will no longer allow any US-specific issue ads to be shown on its platform unless the advertisers promoting these ads are certified by Twitter, verify their identity, as well as confirm that they are located in the US. If the advertisers complete all that is required of them, their posts will now feature a “Promoted (issue)” label and include who is paying for it. Twitter is hoping that these new policies will keep election integrity and rid the platform of people trying to influence the United States’ political elections.

These new policies are obviously in response to the Cambridge Analytica debacle of early 2018. I think many other platforms, if they haven’t already, will adopt policies similar to these. This may also make it harder for advertisers to get their material approved in order to post their ads, which will be a good way to keep out fake ads but at the same time will keep advertising from us that is used to inform Americans about elections. Hopefully Twitter’s algorithm does not fail us. The adoption of these policies may also change public opinion about Twitter. I observe that many people my age see Twitter as a public bashing platform rather than a news source. Maybe this will change the perception of the social network to be one of a trusting news provider.

Places like Instagram, Facebook, possibly even Pinterest will eventually create their own policies about how much oversight they are allowed to have and what they will allow advertisers to post. What will be interesting to see is if any of these platforms will make new policies on what regular users are allowed to post in reference to elections. Will we be allowed to show support for certain bills or representatives or will these social networks become the deciders of truth?

https://marketingland.com/twitter-to-enforce-new-rules-around-issue-ads-starting-september-30-247213

    Zoee Widener

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