Twitter Announces Global Ban on Political Advertising
Event Reviewed Automatically reviewed for factual accuracy, tone, and neutrality. Review does not check claims against cited sources. Last reviewed 28 October 2026.Twitter CEO Jack Dorsey announced that the platform would stop accepting political ads worldwide from November 22, 2019, covering both candidate ads and issue ads on matters such as climate change, healthcare, immigration and taxes.
Platform withdraws from paid political advertising ahead of the 2020 election.
Dorsey announced the policy in a series of posts on October 30, 2019, writing that “political message reach should be earned, not bought” and that paying for reach forces “highly optimized and targeted political messages on people.” He cited “machine learning-based optimization of messaging and micro-targeting” and “unchecked misleading information” as challenges posed by internet political ads. The ban covered candidate and election ads as well as issue advocacy ads on matters of national importance, with an exception for ads encouraging voter registration, and took effect on November 22, 2019.
The announcement contrasted with Facebook, whose CEO Mark Zuckerberg had said that “in a democracy, I don’t think it’s right for private companies to censor politicians” when discussing the content of political ads. Trump campaign manager Brad Parscale called Twitter’s decision “a very dumb decision for their stockholders,” while Sen. Mark Warner (D-Va.) told reporters he hoped Facebook and YouTube would follow “the company’s lead.”
In August 2023, after Elon Musk’s acquisition of the company and its rebranding as X, the platform reversed the ban and began accepting political advertising again, starting in the United States.
Sources
- 01.
Ivanova, I. (2019). Twitter announces ban on all political ads. CBS News. Supports the October 30, 2019 announcement by Jack Dorsey, the November 22, 2019 effective date, the ban's coverage of candidate ads and issue ads on matters of national importance, the exception for ads encouraging voter registration, Dorsey's stated reasoning, Mark Zuckerberg's contrasting position on Facebook political ads, and the reactions of Brad Parscale and Sen. Mark Warner.
- 02.
Al Jazeera. Social media company X to allow political ads, reversing previous ban. (2023). August 29, 2023. Supports that Twitter banned political advertising in 2019 ahead of the 2020 US presidential election, Dorsey's "earned, not bought" justification, and X's 2023 reversal of the ban.
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