The Twitter application is seen on a digital device, Monday, April 25, 2022, in San Diego. (AP Photo/Gregory Bull, File)
After a three-year hiatus, Twitter is set to reverse course on its ban of political ads.
In 2019, Twitter and then-CEO Jack Dorsey moved to ban cause-based ads in an effort, in part, to reduce the spread of misinformation and paid advertising for smear campaigns but the bird app could be reversing course under Elon Musk's leadership.
Musk is a self-described advocate for free speech and the move comes as Twitter struggles to become profitable. In 2018, when political ads had a green light, they accounted for less than $3 million of total spending during the U.S. midterm elections. Facebook also enacted limits on political and social issue advertising at the time but reversed its decision in 2021.
Last November, Twitter went through some turmoil when notable companies like Chipotle, General Mills, Pfizer, United Airlines, and others, halted advertising on the platform after Musk's takeover.
President Joe Biden has met with new House Speaker Mike Johnson at the White House. Johnson was joined by Democratic leader Hakeem Jeffries as they discussed Biden's request for nearly $106 billion for Israel, Ukraine and other national security needs.
The new leader of one of the chambers of Congress that will certify the winner of next year's presidential election helped spearhead the attempt to overturn the last one, raising alarms that Republicans could try to subvert the will of the voters if they remain in power despite safeguards enacted after the 2021 attack on the U.S. Capitol.
Israel rolled tanks into northern Gaza for what the military called a targeted raid aiming to destroy Hamas infrastructure. Meanwhile, the UN Security Council failed to pass two separate resolutions proposed by the U.S. and Russia on humanitarian aid for civilians in Gaza.
Republican Mike Johnson is the new speaker of the House, but the ally of Donald Trump inherits many of the same political problems that have tormented past GOP leaders.
