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Hillary Clinton, AOC, and the Trump and Biden campaigns respond to Twitter's decision not to run political ads

Oct 31, 2019, 04:17 IST

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Patrick Semansky, File via AP, Evan Vucci/AP

  • On Wednesday afternoon, CEO Jack Dorsey announced that by the end of November, all political ads will be banned on Twitter.
  • This news comes as competitor Facebook is embroiled in controversy over its own political ad policies - specifically, its policy around allowing politicians to lie and spread misinformation in political ads.
  • A number of political figures and campaigns from both sides of the aisle, including President Donald Trump's reelection campaign, have already responded to Dorsey's announcement, offering both praise and criticism.
  • Visit Business Insider's homepage for more stories.

According to CEO Jack Dorsey, political ads will be banned from running on Twitter, starting on November 22nd.

In a Twitter thread posted Wednesday afternoon, Dorsey explained his views, saying that political ads take away users' freedom to decide what they see on the internet, and have the potential to spread lies "at increasing velocity, sophistication, and overwhelming scale." He went on to say that the decision "isn't about free expression" but rather that "paying for reach" doesn't present an even playing field.

Dorsey says that Twitter will release a full, detailed version of its new policy by November 15th - including more clarity around which kinds of ads do and do not qualify as political. 

The role of political ads on social media has become a hotly debated topic in the past few weeks, as Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg has come under fire from politicians and even his own employees over the social network's stance on political ads. Specifically, Facebook has been scrutinized over its decision to allow politicians to lie and spread misinformation in paid ads on the platform.

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However, there's been a largely-positive response to Dorsey's decision, even among those politicians who will now be barred from posting ads on Twitter. 

Here's a roundup of reactions to Twitter's new political ad policies from prominent politicians and their campaigns, including avid Twitter user President Donald Trump's own reelection campaign manager.

Former Vice President Joe Biden's campaign was among the first to release a statement, saying that while it was unfortunate that Twitter thought this was necessary, it's better than allowing misinformation to spread.

Biden campaign statement: pic.twitter.com/sYGjNPzjEv

— kate conger (@kateconger) October 30, 2019

Brad Parscale, President Trump's campaign manager, was immediately critical, suggesting that the move was designed to "silence Trump and conservatives."

Twitter bans political ads in yet another attempt by the left to silence Trump and conservatives. Wouldn’t be surprised if @twitter lifted the ban after 2020.

Statement: pic.twitter.com/4ZdHGJw3js

— Brad Parscale (@parscale) October 30, 2019

Former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, however, praised Dorsey, saying "this is the right thing to do."

This is the right thing to do for democracy in America and all over the world.

What say you, @Facebook? https://t.co/dRgipKHzUG

— Hillary Clinton (@HillaryClinton) October 30, 2019

Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez was also pleased with the decision, saying Dorsey made a "good call."

This is a good call. Technology - and social media especially - has a powerful responsibility in preserving the integrity of our elections.

Not allowing for paid disinformation is one of the most basic, ethical decisions a company can make.

/1 https://t.co/YtNawdnJfj

— Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (@AOC) October 30, 2019

Many folks have asked whether I believe all social media political ads should be banned outright.

I believe that if a company cannot or does not wish to run basic fact-checking on paid political advertising, then they should not run paid political ads at all. /2

— Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (@AOC) October 30, 2019

Bernice King complimented Dorsey with a quote from her father, civil rights icon Martin Luther King Jr. Notably, King had previously slammed Mark Zuckerberg over Facebook's stance on free speech.

Thank you, @jack, for taking the lead on responsible sharing of political ads via social media. In my father's words, “A genuine leader is not a searcher of consensus, but a molder of consensus." This is a significant step. #MLK #TogetherWeWin

— Be A King (@BerniceKing) October 30, 2019

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