<p>Elon Musk's Twitter Inc has announced the reversal of a 2019 ban on political ads and said that it will expand to allow them on the social media platform. This as per reports is an important step in the company's attempts to grow its revenue.</p>

<p>The company in a tweet announced the move and said "We believe that cause-based advertising can facilitate a public conversation around important topics. Today, we're relaxing our ads policy for cause-based ads in the US. We also plan to expand the political advertising we permit in the coming weeks."</p>

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<p dir="ltr" lang="en">We believe that cause-based advertising can facilitate public conversation around important topics. Today, we're relaxing our ads policy for cause-based ads in the US. We also plan to expand the political advertising we permit in the coming weeks.</p>
— Twitter Safety (@TwitterSafety) <a href="https://twitter.com/TwitterSafety/status/1610399203481784320?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">January 3, 2023</a></blockquote>
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<p>After social media giants like Facebook and Twitter faced widespread criticism for their ads and the alleged political misinformation campaigns run through them, political ads were banned on the platform in 2019.</p>

<p><strong>Watch |&nbsp;2022 in tech: Crypto collapse to Twitter-Musk saga | Tech It Out Rewind</strong></p>

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<p>Jack Dorsey the then Twitter chief executive while announcing the ban remarked "We believe political message reach should be earned, not bought".</p>

<p><strong>Also read |&nbsp;<a href="https://www.wionews.com/technology/another-data-breach-at-twitter-details-of-over-400-million-users-up-for-sale-probe-on-548132">Another data breach at Twitter, details of over 400 million users up for sale; probe on</a></strong></p>

<p>Now moving away from the beliefs of the bygone time, Twitter's new owner Elon Musk has decided to reverse the decision.</p>

<p>Users were quick to point out that their feeds are already flooded with ads. As one user puts it "Someone cranked up the ad revenue dial".</p>

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<p dir="ltr" lang="en">Anyone else seeing an unusual amount of random ass promoted tweets all of a sudden? Someone cranked up the ad revenue dial. <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/twitter?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#twitter</a> <a href="https://t.co/ThCdSyY9As">pic.twitter.com/ThCdSyY9As</a></p>
— A.J. Hartless (@redzrage) <a href="https://twitter.com/redzrage/status/1610466689573085190?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">January 4, 2023</a></blockquote>
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<p dir="ltr" lang="en">Twitter is just broken. My feed is so discombobulated and seems like every other thing is an ad. I miss the olden days of Twitter, before Elmo messed it all up.</p>
— 🌻 Julie James Dio 🖤✨ (@03jewell) <a href="https://twitter.com/03jewell/status/1610465710710599681?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">January 4, 2023</a></blockquote>
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<p dir="ltr" lang="en">twitter ads got random as fuck tonight.</p>
— INTUITION (@ItsIntuition) <a href="https://twitter.com/ItsIntuition/status/1610448322552279044?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">January 4, 2023</a></blockquote>
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<p dir="ltr" lang="en">Twitter ODing w these ads</p>
— 🪶 (@LASTNAMELORDE) <a href="https://twitter.com/LASTNAMELORDE/status/1610288589535064065?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">January 3, 2023</a></blockquote>
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<p dir="ltr" lang="en">Twitter is now an app I visit to spend some free moments blocking ads.</p>
— WOMEN ARE LITERALLY HUMANS get tote bag in my pic (@JenKirkman) <a href="https://twitter.com/JenKirkman/status/1610072775628328962?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">January 3, 2023</a></blockquote>
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<p dir="ltr" lang="en">Anyone else's thumb hurt from scrolling through all the ads on twitter lately? 😫</p>
— aria🏅 (@AriaSaki) <a href="https://twitter.com/AriaSaki/status/1610314017830244358?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">January 3, 2023</a></blockquote>
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<p dir="ltr" lang="en">has anyone else been getting an increase of weird twitter ads</p>
— t 心 (@stiinken) <a href="https://twitter.com/stiinken/status/1610435700964442112?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">January 4, 2023</a></blockquote>
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<p><strong>Also read |&nbsp;<a href="https://www.wionews.com/trending/twitter-sued-after-it-fails-to-pay-office-space-rent-report-548457">Twitter sued for failure to pay rent of San Francisco office, may default on lease: Report</a></strong></p>

<p>Since Musk's takeover of the platform, ad venue of Twitter has seen a drastic fall with corporate advertisers pulling out or pausing their campaigns.&nbsp;</p>

<p>As per Reuters, Musk's aggressive approach in laying off thousands of employees, reversing the suspension of notorious celebrities like Donald Trump and Ye a.k.a Kanye West, and its paid verification feature which gave rise to "verified" fake accounts, trolls are behind the advertisers exit from Twitter.</p>

<p><em>(With inputs from agencies)</em></p>

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Elon Musk's Twitter Inc has announced the reversal of a 2019 ban on political ads and said that it will expand to allow them on the social media platform. This as per reports is an important step in the company's attempts to grow its revenue.

Elon Musk's Twitter Inc has announced the reversal of a 2019 ban on political ads and said that it will expand to allow them on the social media platform. This as per reports is an important step in the company's attempts to grow its revenue. The company in a tweet announced the move and said "We believe that cause-based advertising can facilitate a public conversation around important topics. Today, we're relaxing our ads policy for cause-based ads in the US. We also plan to expand the political advertising we permit in the coming weeks." We believe that cause-based advertising can facilitate public conversation around important topics. Today, we're relaxing our ads policy for cause-based ads in the US. We also plan to expand the political advertising we permit in the coming weeks. — Twitter Safety (@TwitterSafety) January 3, 2023 × After social media giants like Facebook and Twitter faced widespread criticism for their ads and the alleged political misinformation campaigns run through them, political ads were banned on the platform in 2019. Watch | 2022 in tech: Crypto collapse to Twitter-Musk saga | Tech It Out Rewind Jack Dorsey the then Twitter chief executive while announcing the ban remarked "We believe political message reach should be earned, not bought". Also read | Another data breach at Twitter, details of over 400 million users up for sale; probe on Now moving away from the beliefs of the bygone time, Twitter's new owner Elon Musk has decided to reverse the decision. Users were quick to point out that their feeds are already flooded with ads. As one user puts it "Someone cranked up the ad revenue dial". Anyone else seeing an unusual amount of random ass promoted tweets all of a sudden? Someone cranked up the ad revenue dial. #twitter pic.twitter.com/ThCdSyY9As — A.J. Hartless (@redzrage) January 4, 2023 × Twitter is just broken. My feed is so discombobulated and seems like every other thing is an ad. I miss the olden days of Twitter, before Elmo messed it all up. — 🌻 Julie James Dio 🖤✨ (@03jewell) January 4, 2023 × twitter ads got random as fuck tonight. — INTUITION (@ItsIntuition) January 4, 2023 × Twitter ODing w these ads — 🪶 (@LASTNAMELORDE) January 3, 2023 × Twitter is now an app I visit to spend some free moments blocking ads. — WOMEN ARE LITERALLY HUMANS get tote bag in my pic (@JenKirkman) January 3, 2023 × Anyone else's thumb hurt from scrolling through all the ads on twitter lately? 😫 — aria🏅 (@AriaSaki) January 3, 2023 × has anyone else been getting an increase of weird twitter ads — t 心 (@stiinken) January 4, 2023 × Also read | Twitter sued for failure to pay rent of San Francisco office, may default on lease: Report Since Musk's takeover of the platform, ad venue of Twitter has seen a drastic fall with corporate advertisers pulling out or pausing their campaigns. As per Reuters, Musk's aggressive approach in laying off thousands of employees, reversing the suspension of notorious celebrities like Donald Trump and Ye a.k.a Kanye West, and its paid verification feature which gave rise to "verified" fake accounts, trolls are behind the advertisers exit from Twitter. (With inputs from agencies) WATCH WION LIVE HERE You can now write for wionews.com and be a part of the community. Share your stories and opinions with us here.

Shifting gears from reach is 'earned not bought' to 'cause-based advt', Twitter lifts ban on political ads

<p>The latest and the ninth instalment of the 'Twitter Files' has uncovered a web of coordination between the tech giant and US government agencies.&nbsp;Releasing the latest instalment on Christmas eve, Substack writer Matt Taibbi claims that it goes beyond the FBI which was acting as the "doorman to a vast programme of social media surveillance and censorship, encompassing agencies across the federal government – from the State Department to the Pentagon to the CIA."&nbsp;</p>

<p><strong>Watch |&nbsp;The Twitter files: How Twitter handled Hunter Biden story?</strong></p>

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<p>Posting part of a screenshot of an email, Taibbi alleges that "Twitter had so much contact with so many agencies that executives lost track."</p>

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<p dir="ltr" lang="en">6.Twitter had so much contact with so many agencies that executives lost track. Is today the DOD, and tomorrow the FBI? Is it the weekly call, or the monthly meeting? It was dizzying. <a href="https://t.co/C8d8jntnC0">pic.twitter.com/C8d8jntnC0</a></p>
— Matt Taibbi (@mtaibbi) <a href="https://twitter.com/mtaibbi/status/1606701408967090177?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">December 24, 2022</a></blockquote>
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<p>In the long series of tweets, he further claims that one of Twitter's executives is ex-CIA.</p>

<p><strong>Also read |&nbsp;<a href="https://www.wionews.com/technology/twitter-files-70-shows-fbi-pressured-to-discredit-hunter-biden-laptop-story-all-you-need-to-know-544882">Twitter files 7.0 show FBI pressured social media platforms to ‘discredit’ Hunter Biden laptop story</a></strong></p>

<p>"It was an open secret at Twitter that one of its executives was ex-CIA, which is why Chan referred to that executive’s 'former employer'". He also shared another screenshot as evidence in which, there is a clear mention of this.</p>

<p>"The first Twitter executive abandoned any pretense to stealth and emailed that the employee “used to work for the CIA, so that is Elvis’s question”.</p>

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<p dir="ltr" lang="en">12.The first Twitter executive abandoned any pretense to stealth and emailed that the employee “used to work for the CIA, so that is Elvis’s question.” <a href="https://t.co/5kL8xNRZcO">pic.twitter.com/5kL8xNRZcO</a></p>
— Matt Taibbi (@mtaibbi) <a href="https://twitter.com/mtaibbi/status/1606701420543381504?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">December 24, 2022</a></blockquote>
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<p><strong>Also read |&nbsp;<a href="https://www.wionews.com/world/twitter-acted-as-a-subsidiary-shared-master-canine-quality-relationship-with-fbi-543922">Twitter Files 6.0: Twitter acted as a 'subsidiary', shared “master-canine quality” relationship with FBI</a></strong></p>

<p>The US government was in contact "not just with Twitter but with virtually every major tech firm". This includes Facebook, Microsoft, Verison, Reddit, Pinterest and "many others".</p>

<p>As per the revelations, around the 2020 elections, the government had "overwhelmed" Twitter with lists of hundreds of "problem accounts" that were to be taken down for misleading information.</p>

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<p dir="ltr" lang="en">23. Email after email came from the San Francisco office heading into the election, often adorned with an Excel attachment: <a href="https://t.co/2xCKHPcBRE">pic.twitter.com/2xCKHPcBRE</a></p>
— Matt Taibbi (@mtaibbi) <a href="https://twitter.com/mtaibbi/status/1606701446325735429?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">December 24, 2022</a></blockquote>
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<p>Apparently, most of these accounts were domestic, Taibbi remarks that "It seemed to strike no one as strange that a “Foreign Influence” task force was forwarding thousands of mostly domestic reports, along with the DHS, about the fringiest material".&nbsp;<br />
<br />
One of the most common forums was a regular meeting of the multi-agency Foreign Influence Task Force (FITF), attended by spates of executives, FBI personnel, and – nearly always – one or two attendees marked “OGA”, mentions Matt on his twitter handle.</p>

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<p dir="ltr" lang="en">30. It seemed to strike no one as strange that a “Foreign Influence” task force was forwarding thousands of mostly domestic reports, along with the DHS, about the fringiest material: <a href="https://t.co/YlOQQeUbkw">pic.twitter.com/YlOQQeUbkw</a></p>
— Matt Taibbi (@mtaibbi) <a href="https://twitter.com/mtaibbi/status/1606701461718863873?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">December 24, 2022</a></blockquote>
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<p>The previous instalments of the so-called Twitter files too have made similar surprising revelations including that tweets by former US President Donald Trump in the run-up to January 6 Capital riots did not violate the company's policies.</p>

<p><em>(With inputs from agencies)</em></p>

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The latest and the ninth instalment of the 'Twitter Files' has uncovered a web of coordination between the tech giant and US government agencies. Releasing the latest instalment on Christmas eve, Substack writer Matt Taibbi claims that it goes beyond the FBI which was acting as the "doorman to a vast programme of social media surveillance and censorship, encompassing agencies across the federal government – from the State Department to the Pentagon to the CIA.

The latest and the ninth instalment of the 'Twitter Files' has uncovered a web of coordination between the tech giant and US government agencies. Releasing the latest instalment on Christmas eve, Substack writer Matt Taibbi claims that it goes beyond the FBI which was acting as the "doorman to a vast programme of social media surveillance and censorship, encompassing agencies across the federal government – from the State Department to the Pentagon to the CIA." Watch | The Twitter files: How Twitter handled Hunter Biden story? Posting part of a screenshot of an email, Taibbi alleges that "Twitter had so much contact with so many agencies that executives lost track." 6.Twitter had so much contact with so many agencies that executives lost track. Is today the DOD, and tomorrow the FBI? Is it the weekly call, or the monthly meeting? It was dizzying. pic.twitter.com/C8d8jntnC0 — Matt Taibbi (@mtaibbi) December 24, 2022 × In the long series of tweets, he further claims that one of Twitter's executives is ex-CIA. Also read | Twitter files 7.0 show FBI pressured social media platforms to ‘discredit’ Hunter Biden laptop story "It was an open secret at Twitter that one of its executives was ex-CIA, which is why Chan referred to that executive’s 'former employer'". He also shared another screenshot as evidence in which, there is a clear mention of this. "The first Twitter executive abandoned any pretense to stealth and emailed that the employee “used to work for the CIA, so that is Elvis’s question”. 12.The first Twitter executive abandoned any pretense to stealth and emailed that the employee “used to work for the CIA, so that is Elvis’s question.” pic.twitter.com/5kL8xNRZcO — Matt Taibbi (@mtaibbi) December 24, 2022 × Also read | Twitter Files 6.0: Twitter acted as a 'subsidiary', shared “master-canine quality” relationship with FBI The US government was in contact "not just with Twitter but with virtually every major tech firm". This includes Facebook, Microsoft, Verison, Reddit, Pinterest and "many others". As per the revelations, around the 2020 elections, the government had "overwhelmed" Twitter with lists of hundreds of "problem accounts" that were to be taken down for misleading information. 23. Email after email came from the San Francisco office heading into the election, often adorned with an Excel attachment: pic.twitter.com/2xCKHPcBRE — Matt Taibbi (@mtaibbi) December 24, 2022 × Apparently, most of these accounts were domestic, Taibbi remarks that "It seemed to strike no one as strange that a “Foreign Influence” task force was forwarding thousands of mostly domestic reports, along with the DHS, about the fringiest material". One of the most common forums was a regular meeting of the multi-agency Foreign Influence Task Force (FITF), attended by spates of executives, FBI personnel, and – nearly always – one or two attendees marked “OGA”, mentions Matt on his twitter handle. 30. It seemed to strike no one as strange that a “Foreign Influence” task force was forwarding thousands of mostly domestic reports, along with the DHS, about the fringiest material: pic.twitter.com/YlOQQeUbkw — Matt Taibbi (@mtaibbi) December 24, 2022 × The previous instalments of the so-called Twitter files too have made similar surprising revelations including that tweets by former US President Donald Trump in the run-up to January 6 Capital riots did not violate the company's policies. (With inputs from agencies) WATCH WION LIVE HERE You can now write for wionews.com and be a part of the community. Share your stories and opinions with us here.

Twitter Files 9.0 reveals a web of ‘social media surveillance, censorship’ by not just FBI, other agencies too

<p>Hate speech against black people, transgender persons as well as engagement with hateful content on Twitter has increased sharply since Elon Musk took over the platform, a research by the Center for Countering Digital Hate found on Friday. The research findings are now being seen in the background of Twitter's increased reliance on automated moderation instead of human intervention against hate speech on the platform.&nbsp;</p>

<p>The findings stand in contrast to Musk's claims last week that “hate speech impressions” on Twitter were down by one-third since he took the helm of the company. Musk, however, in a tweet on Saturday said that the findings are “utterly false” while responding to a New York Times story on the study.</p>

<p><strong>Engagement with hateful content up by 372 per cent</strong></p>

<p>In mid-November, Elon Musk had said that hateful tweets would be “max deboosted &amp; demonetized”, following which, the Twitter users wouldn’t see the content unless they search for it on the platform.&nbsp;</p>

<p><strong>ALSO READ |&nbsp;<a href="https://www.wionews.com/world/macron-not-happy-with-elon-musk-relaxing-twitter-moderation-rules-539322">Macron not happy with Elon Musk relaxing Twitter moderation rules</a></strong></p>

<p>But the research found that engagement with hate speech has increased to indiscriminate levels since Musk took over the company. The average number of likes, replies, and retweets on posts with slurs was 13.3 during the weeks before Musk's takeover of the platform.</p>

<p><strong>ALSO READ |&nbsp;<a href="https://www.wionews.com/science/twitter-sees-a-surge-of-denialism-claims-as-scientists-look-for-an-alternative-site-539518">Twitter sees a surge of denialism claims, as scientists look for an alternative site</a></strong></p>

<p>Following Musk's&nbsp;takeover, the average engagements on hateful content have jumped to 49.5 — a whopping increase by 372 per cent — according to the report.</p>

<p><strong>Worrying&nbsp;jump in hate speech against Black people</strong></p>

<p>Before Elon Musk took over the platform, an average of 1,282 tweets with slurs&nbsp;against Black people appeared on a daily basis on Twitter. After Musk formally became Twitter's owner, this number jumped to 3,876 tweets. But last week, when Musk claimed that hate speech impressions were down by a third, the tweets with slurs against Black people went up even further to 4,650 tweets, the report said.&nbsp;</p>

<p><strong>Hate speech against transgender people up by 62 per cent</strong></p>

<p>The report found that slurs against transgender people — with 5,117 tweets at an average — increased by 62 per cent since Musk took over Twitter.</p>

<p>The data was reportedly gathered using Brandwatch, a social media analytics tool, and included tweets from around the world in English.</p>

<p><strong>Why exactly Hate speech surging on Twitter?</strong></p>

<p>Twitter vice president of Trust and Safety Product Ella Irwin told Reuters that the platform is doing away with certain manual reviews rather than removing certain speech outright. The platform is now relying heavily on automation to moderate content. &nbsp;</p>

<p>She said that Musk was focused on using automation more, arguing that the company had in the past erred on the side of using time and labuor-intensive human reviews of harmful content.</p>

<p>"He has encouraged the team to take more risks, move fast, get the platform safe," Irwin said.</p>

<p>Since taking over Twitter in late October, Elon Musk’s act of erratic firings of existing staff (by over fifty per cent) have reportedly gutted the trust and safety teams responsible for moderation, despite the continued concerns from civil rights groups over how hateful content could flourish on Twitter.</p>

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Hate speech against black people, transgender persons as well as engagement with hateful content on Twitter has increased sharply since Elon Musk took over the platform, a research by the Center for Countering Digital Hate found on Friday.

Hate speech against black people, transgender persons as well as engagement with hateful content on Twitter has increased sharply since Elon Musk took over the platform, a research by the Center for Countering Digital Hate found on Friday. The research findings are now being seen in the background of Twitter's increased reliance on automated moderation instead of human intervention against hate speech on the platform. The findings stand in contrast to Musk's claims last week that “hate speech impressions” on Twitter were down by one-third since he took the helm of the company. Musk, however, in a tweet on Saturday said that the findings are “utterly false” while responding to a New York Times story on the study. Engagement with hateful content up by 372 per cent In mid-November, Elon Musk had said that hateful tweets would be “max deboosted & demonetized”, following which, the Twitter users wouldn’t see the content unless they search for it on the platform. ALSO READ | Macron not happy with Elon Musk relaxing Twitter moderation rules But the research found that engagement with hate speech has increased to indiscriminate levels since Musk took over the company. The average number of likes, replies, and retweets on posts with slurs was 13.3 during the weeks before Musk's takeover of the platform. ALSO READ | Twitter sees a surge of denialism claims, as scientists look for an alternative site Following Musk's takeover, the average engagements on hateful content have jumped to 49.5 — a whopping increase by 372 per cent — according to the report. Worrying jump in hate speech against Black people Before Elon Musk took over the platform, an average of 1,282 tweets with slurs against Black people appeared on a daily basis on Twitter. After Musk formally became Twitter's owner, this number jumped to 3,876 tweets. But last week, when Musk claimed that hate speech impressions were down by a third, the tweets with slurs against Black people went up even further to 4,650 tweets, the report said. Hate speech against transgender people up by 62 per cent The report found that slurs against transgender people — with 5,117 tweets at an average — increased by 62 per cent since Musk took over Twitter. The data was reportedly gathered using Brandwatch, a social media analytics tool, and included tweets from around the world in English. Why exactly Hate speech surging on Twitter? Twitter vice president of Trust and Safety Product Ella Irwin told Reuters that the platform is doing away with certain manual reviews rather than removing certain speech outright. The platform is now relying heavily on automation to moderate content. She said that Musk was focused on using automation more, arguing that the company had in the past erred on the side of using time and labuor-intensive human reviews of harmful content. "He has encouraged the team to take more risks, move fast, get the platform safe," Irwin said. Since taking over Twitter in late October, Elon Musk’s act of erratic firings of existing staff (by over fifty per cent) have reportedly gutted the trust and safety teams responsible for moderation, despite the continued concerns from civil rights groups over how hateful content could flourish on Twitter. WATCH WION LIVE HERE You can now write for wionews.com and be a part of the community. Share your stories and opinions with us here.

Floodgates opened for hate speech against black, transgenders after Elon Musk's Twitter takeover