Tuesday saw the lifting by Elon Musk of a political ad prohibition that Twitter had in place to combat misinformation prior to the billionaire’s acquisition of the now-named X platform.
Less than a week after former President Donald Trump made a post at X for the first time since January 2021, possibly deceptive political comments were once again welcomed there.
Trump announced his return to a platform that served as his favorite bullhorn throughout his time as president by posting his police mugshot following his detention in Georgia.
It was his first public appearance in days following the uprising at the US Capitol, where a furious mob of his followers tried to prevent Joe Biden’s inauguration as president.
After the incident on January 6, Twitter decided to permanently suspend Trump after determining that he had violated the platform’s policy against glorifying violence by continuing to make his false assertions that the election had been stolen from him.
Musk, who acquired the site last year, reinstated the former president in November 2022, but Trump opted to use his own platform, Truth Social, which has a considerably smaller user base, to connect with his supporters.
In a blog post, X claimed that, starting in the US, allowing political advertisements was “building on our commitment to free expression.”
The blog argued that X regulations forbid the dissemination of inaccurate or deceptive information, including false statements meant to undermine trust in an election.
The caption on Trump’s most recent mug shot was “Election interference.” Trump’s election subversion conspiracy trial will begin on March 4, 2024, according to a judge’s order on Monday.
This date places one of the largest criminal cases in American history at the height of the following presidential campaign. X announced that it is growing its elections and safety teams to concentrate on preventing platform manipulation and will offer an online portal where political advertisements can be examined.
After purchasing Twitter, Musk cut workers, raising questions about Twitter’s capacity to reliably operate and censor material.
According to X, it is amending its Civic Integrity Policy to address content that aims to scare or mislead voters while adhering to Musk’s belief that everyone has the right to their own opinions.
The platform stated in the blog post that “X shouldn’t judge the veracity of disputed information.”
Instead, in keeping with our commitment to defending freedom of expression, we should enable our users to express their opinions and engage in open discussion during elections.”
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