Twitter is Banning All Ads From Russian Propaganda Outlets

Twitter’s brand has been tied to extremism. Whether it comes in the form of trolls harassing women, ISIS media operatives spreading propaganda, or Russian-backed accounts spreading disinformation—when most people think of Twitter, it’s not positive.

After years of being called out by a litany of victims for enabling some of the worst elements of society, Twitter finally seemed to get the message. First it started with a tweetstorm by CEO Jack Dorsey after the success of #WomenBoycottTwitter, saying that they are going to take abuse more seriously. A couple days ago, Twitter announced that they will label political ads, and will enable users to see which ads have been targeted against them. Today, they made another announcement on their road back to respectability.

STATEMENT from Twitter announcing it’s banning ads from all accounts owned by Russia Today and Sputnik, effective immediately: pic.twitter.com/83zM6r49IO

— Natasha Bertrand (@NatashaBertrand) October 26, 2017

Off-boarding advertising from all accounts owned by Russia Today (RT) and Sputnik.

We’re donating all projected earnings ($1.9mm) to support external research into the use of Twitter in elections, including use of malicious automation and misinformation. https://t.co/zIxfqqXCZr

— jack (@jack) October 26, 2017

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It sure looks like after years of being denigrated for their complicity in the degradation of our society, Twitter is finally listening. It is the platform for abuse and misinformation, and that is likely part of the reason why a company that made itself the premier place to find breaking news somehow can’t seem to make any money.

Jacob Weindling is a staff writer for Paste politics. Follow him on Twitter at @Jakeweindling.