“X should not determine the veracity of disputed information,” the platform said in the blog post.
San Francisco:
Elon Musk on Tuesday lifted a ban on political advertising introduced on Twitter to prevent misinformation before the billionaire bought the platform called X.
The renewed welcome to potentially misleading political messages at X comes less than a week after former President Donald Trump posted there for the first time since January 2021.
Trump released a police mugshot after his arrest in Georgia, signaling his return to a podium that was his favorite bullhorn during his years in the White House.
It was his first post in days after the US Capitol riot, which saw an angry mob of his supporters attempt to block Joe Biden’s certification as president.
The then-Twitter broadcaster permanently suspended Trump after the Jan. 6 riots, saying he violated the platform’s policies glorifying violence when he made his false claims that the election was stolen from him.
Musk, who bought the platform last year, reinstated the former president in November 2022, but Trump stayed away, opting to reach his followers on his own platform, Truth Social, albeit with a much smaller audience.
X said in a blog post that allowing political advertising, beginning in the United States, “builds on our commitment to free speech.”
The X guidelines prohibit the promotion of false or misleading information, including bogus claims, intended to undermine confidence in an election, the blog said.
Trump’s most recent mugshot post was captioned “election interference.”
A judge on Monday set March 4, 2024 for Trump’s campaign conspiracy trial – setting one of the biggest criminal cases in American history at the climax of the next White House election.
X said it would expand its security and election teams to focus on countering platform manipulation and provide an online hub to review political ads.
After buying Twitter, Musk cut staff and raised concerns about the company’s ability to moderate content and function reliably.
X said it is updating its civic integrity policy protecting elections to combat content designed to intimidate or deceive voters, while staying true to Musk’s philosophy of letting people say whatever they want.
“X should not determine the veracity of disputed information,” the platform said in the blog post.
“Rather, we should give our users the opportunity to express their opinions and openly debate elections, consistent with our commitment to protecting freedom of expression.”
(Except for the headline, this article was not edited by NDTV staff and is published via a syndicated feed.)
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