Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-N.Y.) approved of Twitter’s recent announcement that it was banning all political advertising on the platform, a move which puts it in stark contrast with Facebook’s much-criticized policy.
Ocasio-Cortez grilled Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg about the social media giant’s policy during a House of Representatives hearing last week, joining a number of lawmakers (and even employees) who have criticized its policy, which essentially allows politicians to say anything in ads, even if they include false information.
On Wednesday evening, Twitter went in the opposite direction. Twitter CEO Jack Dorsey announced that the platform would ban all political advertising, arguing that “political message reach should be earned, not bought.”
The New York lawmaker called Dorsey’s decision a “good call,” adding that social media had a “powerful responsibility in preserving the integrity of our elections.”
“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,” Ocasio-Cortez said in a series of tweets on Wednesday evening. “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.”
She continued:
“I say this as a candidate that runs digital ads & believe they can be productive + useful *IF* used responsibly. People say that tech companies can’t fact check, but basic fact checking isn’t hard. We‘re talking abt blocking outright disinformation: wrong vote records, etc.”
This is a good call. Technology – and social media especially – has a powerful responsibility in preserving the integrity of our elections.
— Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (@AOC) October 30, 2019
Not allowing for paid disinformation is one of the most basic, ethical decisions a company can make.
/1 https://t.co/YtNawdnJfj
Many folks have asked whether I believe all social media political ads should be banned outright.
— Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (@AOC) October 30, 2019
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
I say this as a candidate that runs digital ads & believe they can be productive + useful *IF* used responsibly.
— Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (@AOC) October 30, 2019
People say that tech companies can’t fact check, but basic fact checking isn’t hard. We‘re talking abt blocking outright disinformation: wrong vote records, etc.
Dorsey said that Twitter will reveal its final policy regarding political advertising on the platform in mid-November.
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