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@ISIDEWITHQuestionsDomestic PolicyStarted 7yrs agoActive 12hrs ago

Should social media companies ban political advertising?

In October 2019 Twitter CEO Jack Dorsey announced that his social media company would ban all political advertising. He stated that political messages on the platform should reach users through the recommendation of other users – not through paid reach. Proponents argue that social media companies don’t have the tools to stop the spread of false information since their advertising platforms aren’t moderated by human beings. Opponents argue that the ban will disenfranchise candidates and campaigns who rely on social media for grassroots organizing and fundraising.

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8.9k Replies

 @ISIDEWITHDiscuss this answer...7yrs7Y

Yes

 @BD87N87 from Tennessee  agreed…3wks3W

Fearmongering works, unfortunately, and political advertising uses this to increase society's overall anxiety levels. This makes people easy to lie to.

 @B2FG44C from Indiana  disagreed…1yr1Y

No, political advertising is one of the best ways for statements to spread through the audience now.

  @JonBSimConstitutionfrom Kentucky  disagreed…4yrs4Y

No

Only smear campaigns.

Or banning local ads to regions. Tennesseans should not see ads for Wisconsin senators.

 @ISIDEWITHDiscuss this answer...7yrs7Y

No

 @BD93LG2Independence from Louisiana  disagreed…3wks3W

If a presadent were able to advertise on social midea then we would only be able to see the one that the algorithum flavors

 @BD8NS8N from Illinois  disagreed…3wks3W

In this case the winner will not be the politition who works for government, a politition that bought better and. will be the winner.

 @BD87N87 from Tennessee  disagreed…3wks3W

Social media is effectively the town square in the modern age. Political advertising must be able to take place where political discussion typically happens.

 @BDCQCBJ from Texas  disagreed…2wks2W

Social media has become a cesspool of misinformation, and banning political advertising could be quite beneficial and facilitate reasonable discourse.

 @8MNZDP8 from New York  answered…6yrs6Y

Not necessarily, but social media companies should receive many more regulations

 @8JCJLWVUnity from Texas  answered…6yrs6Y

This is an important topic but it is unclear if this should be solved by law. The appropriate application of law is probably via another channel, namely monopoly approaches.

 @8M2N46D from Missouri  answered…6yrs6Y

Yes, but by their own will. It shouldn't be up to the government.

 @8FSLQPY from New Jersey  answered…6yrs6Y

No, it is an expression of free speech

 @8KZ52SJ from Pennsylvania  answered…6yrs6Y

No, but they should be more intentional about their algorithms and balance of partisan representations

 @9BHS88K from Texas  answered…3yrs3Y

Yes and ban social media

 @9BQVKHK from Virginia  answered…3yrs3Y

Only if it spreads fake news or directly calls for violence

 @8ZC5JGP from Illinois  answered…4yrs4Y

No, but I would respect them if they did

 @8PPDBVNRepublican from Ohio  answered…5yrs5Y

No, but limit it

 @9BRMRD3 from Texas  answered…3yrs3Y

Yes ban social media

 @8FDMGXN from Kentucky  answered…6yrs6Y

It should definitely be cut down quite a bit, there are too many ads on political candidates.

 @8WC73KP from Illinois  answered…5yrs5Y

No, but I would respect them more if they did

 @8G86QHM from Arizona  answered…6yrs6Y

No, but only ban ads that villainize the other candidate

  @Patriot-#1776Constitution from Washington  commented…2yrs2Y

Do not ban any ads. Otherwise you are regulating free speech

 @8GPJQH6 from Indiana  answered…6yrs6Y

No, but they should ensure the advertisements are factual

 @8NXSDN9Progressive from Vermont  answered…6yrs6Y

No, but they should be completely unbiased

 @8NXQSMG from Pennsylvania  disagreed…6yrs6Y

Advertising is important to the advertiser. The advertiser wouldn’t be unbiased as it wouldn’t be advertising what they are being payed to advertise.

 @9F6P8S7 from Washington  answered…3yrs3Y

depends on the site

  @mechanicalloser from Texas  answered…2yrs2Y

I believe that social media companies have a responsibility to ensure that political advertising is truthful, promotes healthy democratic engagement, and does not harm the social fabric.

 @9L74FFC from North Carolina  answered…2yrs2Y

Not ban, but it should be firmly regulated. All ads of that nature should be clearly labeled as political in nature, and their source should be clearly identified and removed if the ad is clear misinformation.

 @9DNBB9V from New York  answered…3yrs3Y

No, but ads should be shown to all users and not based on personal preferences and algorithms

 @9FJ2QRBDemocrat from Texas  answered…3yrs3Y

I think for the times we are in now, they shouldn't, but they should absolutely have the right to ban it.

 @9F9YKKQ from Washington  answered…3yrs3Y

No, but there should be more age restrictions on social media apps

 @9F7J47WLibertarian from Ohio  answered…3yrs3Y

This is not a political question

 @9D3RPBQfrom Guam  answered…3yrs3Y

If it Has harmful agendas, then yes

 @9DVYHVKProgressive from Ohio  answered…3yrs3Y

If it is blatantly false or slandering other candidates, then it should not be allowed. Otherwise, I believe it is fine.

 @9DRRZJZ from Alaska  commented…3yrs3Y

I don't trust the government to determine what is "blatantly false" and "slander" because of course this will be judged not impartially but based on what benefits the preservation of its own power.

 @8NWYJ3J from Florida  answered…6yrs6Y

Yes, but it should be up to each individual company

 @943VP7X from Texas  answered…4yrs4Y

Social media companies shouldn’t have advertising

 @8HHHCPV from Oregon  answered…6yrs6Y

It is up to the social media company.

 @9BLTV64 from Wisconsin  answered…3yrs3Y

No, it is free speech

 @8S6497N from North Carolina  answered…5yrs5Y

They can if they want

 @8P59ZFL from Georgia  answered…6yrs6Y

If they choose to.

 @8D499HR from Oregon  answered…6yrs6Y

Yes, and ban all political advertising

 @8XX9SLNfrom Arizona  answered…4yrs4Y

Regardless, social media companies are private

 @8GFVMNP from California  answered…6yrs6Y

No, but make sure all ads are fact-checked

 @8GB7G5H from California  answered…6yrs6Y

I believe they should have fact checkers, and block all political advertisements that do not contain fully truthful statements.

 @8WFLKTZ from California  answered…5yrs5Y

We should leave that up to the social media companies themselves to decide on the individual level.

 @8G9K2VM from Ohio  answered…6yrs6Y

No but if they're going to allow them they should allow them from all of the different sides not just from one specific party

 @8WDQZXN from Massachusetts  answered…5yrs5Y

Depending on the political advertisements, such as far left or far right propaganda that harm our current political sense.

 @B74GGFX  from California  answered…8mos8MO

No, it should be treated as free speech. Of course the FCC and FEC (or whatever it is) should have a role in regulations, however silencing political media will not be the answer.

 @9DRHX76  from Georgia  answered…3yrs3Y

Social media platforms should be neutral in that free speech be protected; as hate speech is not free speech, that would be an exception

 @9DP6MK3 from Washington  answered…3yrs3Y

Yes, but not because of a government mandate.

 @9DL2YXC from Georgia  answered…3yrs3Y

Only if there is sufficient misinformation.

 @9D9KZZXIndependent from Kansas  answered…3yrs3Y

No, but there should be no political bias in regards to advertising.

 @9D9LF5J from Virginia  answered…3yrs3Y

Only if it spreads misinformation or directly calls for violence

 @9D726LMLibertarian from Missouri  answered…3yrs3Y

No, they should not be allowed to suppress opposing viewpoints either.

 @99M7RWQ from Virginia  answered…3yrs3Y

Only if it spreads fake news or directly calls for violence.

 @988CTF3 from Georgia  answered…3yrs3Y

Regardless, social media should be banned.

 @97B82MPfrom Guam  answered…4yrs4Y

Let them decide for themselves

 @96CJTV5 from Alaska  answered…4yrs4Y

Yes because political ads are annoying

 @94335TJDemocrat from Michigan  answered…4yrs4Y

They should if they want to.

 @92XTQGQ from Arizona  answered…4yrs4Y

They should limit it

 @8XG6WZLLibertarian from Florida  answered…4yrs4Y

Yes, if they want

 @8YHWK85 from Florida  answered…4yrs4Y

It should be up to the social media platform

 @8TQX695Independent from Kentucky  answered…5yrs5Y

If they choose.

 @8TB25GX from New Jersey  answered…5yrs5Y

Social media companies are private and should not be regulated by the government

 @8T646X9 from Colorado  answered…5yrs5Y

No, as long as it is clearly labelled.

 @8SZQ6KJ from Idaho  answered…5yrs5Y

Social media companies should ban all advertising.

 @8SXJTDJfrom Texas  answered…5yrs5Y

If They Want To Then Sure

 @8SS66X4Libertarian from Wisconsin  answered…5yrs5Y

No, but there should be no bias

 @8SDDF7X from Virginia  answered…5yrs5Y

Private companies

 @8R6CP3XLibertarian from Connecticut  answered…5yrs5Y

It should be up to the individual companies.

 @8PZNZCTAmerican Solidarity from Connecticut  answered…5yrs5Y

That should be the companies choice.

 @8NZC5ZMRepublican from Kentucky  answered…6yrs6Y

Yes, because it hurts candidate's chances of winning.

 @8MT8HH5 from Illinois  answered…6yrs6Y

don´t matter

 @8LXNYJBLibertarian from Michigan  answered…6yrs6Y

No its a violation of free speech

 @8KN27JW from California  answered…6yrs6Y

No, social media companies should not ban political advertising. Social medias are the most common platforms for spreading ideas and having discussions. Althoigh more needs to be done to fight the spread of disinformation and conspiracies.

 @8K845RG from Ohio  answered…6yrs6Y

It really depends

 @8J33XYZ from South Carolina  answered…6yrs6Y

Yes, but only if they want to

 @8HKRDZR from Massachusetts  answered…6yrs6Y

It should be up to the company, but they should only be able to ban official political office advertisements and advertisements by supporting organizations/corporations, not advertisements made by average citizens.

 @8DC2398 from Washington  answered…6yrs6Y

No, its freedom of speech

 @8C8GJ3H from Connecticut  answered…6yrs6Y

No, but they should have the right to do so

 @BDM57DF from Ohio  answered…6 days6D

I believe it should be limited heavily.

 @Historyguy00  from Kentucky  answered…7 days7D

No, except for smear campaigns

 @BDL2NPP from Georgia  answered…1wk1W

No, but heavily regulate it.

 @BDJZM4JDemocrat from New Jersey  answered…1wk1W

Yes, but allow for users to know when elections are being held, and who their candidates are.

 @BDJVK36  from Washington  answered…2wks2W

Private companies should feel free to do business with whomever they please, including advertisers.

 @BDJMX6J from Illinois  answered…2wks2W

depends on what is posted

 @BDJK76G from Kansas  answered…2wks2W

As long as the candidates are doing it on their own account its fine

 @BDJ7WSJ from Florida  answered…2wks2W

No but if a company is overtly picking a side it can become controversial.

 @BDHZMDQ  from Montana  answered…2wks2W

There should be caps on political advertising, as it is a nuisance to users and consumers

 @BDGTZMGIndependent from Montana  answered…2wks2W

No, but it should be regulated to minimize the spread of disinformation

 @BD99QNM from Illinois  answered…2wks2W

Only if the advertisements contain false information

 @BDG9PTB from Vermont  answered…2wks2W

They should be punished for ignoring the existing bans near elections

 @BDF3SYC from New York  answered…2wks2W

Mixed answers.

 @BDCZJDJIndependent  from Colorado  answered…2wks2W

Don’t need to ban it, but limit it

 @BDDNY3S from California  answered…2wks2W

It shouldn't be banned, but needs to be clearly labelled. All posts that aren't clearly labelled should be removed and they should receive a fine, plus a ban from the platform it was advertised on.

 @BDDJSCY  from Michigan  answered…2wks2W

No, that hinders free speech.

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