Twitter exempts some 'cause-based' messages from political ad ban
Washington, Nov 16: Twitter said Friday its ban on political ads will exempt "caused-based" messages on topics related to social or environmental issues.
The San Francisco-based messaging platform unveiled details of its move to bar all paid political messages, starting November 22, while easing concerns expressed by activists for social causes.
"Ads that educate, raise awareness, and/or call for people to take action in connection with civic engagement, economic growth, environmental stewardship, or social equity causes are allowed," Twitter said in its new policy.
"However, they may not reference prohibited political advertisers or political content." Twitter announced the political ad ban on October 30, saying the move was aimed at countering the spread of misinformation by politicians.
Chief executive Jack Dorsey said at the time the company wants to head off potential problems from "machine learning-based optimization of messaging and microtargeting, unchecked misleading information, and deep fakes."
Under Twitter's new policy, even exempted cause-based ads would face restrictions on how the messages are targeted -- advertisers may use some geographic targeting "at the state, province or regional level and above," but not by specific locality.
These ads could also be targeted by "keyword" searches on the platform or by "interests" previously indicated by users, but may not be based on political leanings or affiliations or other more refined techniques.
The political ban has drawn mixed reactions: some argue it puts pressure on Facebook to follow suit or take other steps to curb the spread of misinformation from politicians; others say a ban will be difficult to enforce.
Social media platforms have been challenged by President Donald Trump's campaign and its use of ads that contain claims critics say have been debunked by independent fact-checkers.
But Trump 2020 campaign manager Brad Parscale mocked the ban, saying last month, "Twitter just walked away from hundreds of millions of dollars of potential revenue, a very dumb decision for their stockholders." Some analysts point out that the ban will not affect "organic" content, or messages from politicians that are shared or retweeted by supporters, and that it could encourage the use of "bots" or paid users to amplify the tweets.
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NEET student hangs self in Rajasthan's Sikar
Jaipur (PTI): A student preparing for the NEET examination allegedly committed suicide by hanging himself in a rented room in Rajasthan's Sikar on Friday, police said.
According to the police, the student allegedly hanged himself from a ceiling fan using his sister's scarf while one sister was attending coaching classes and the other was in the bathroom.
He had appeared in the NEET UG exam 2026, which was cancelled due to paper leak, they said.
Udyog Nagar SHO Rajesh Kumar said that the deceased, identified as Pradeep Meghwal, was a resident of Kanika ki Dhani village in Jhunjhunu's Gudha Gaudji area.
He had been living in a rented room in Sikar's Jaldhari Nagar area with his two sisters while preparing for NEET over the last three years.
His elder sister later found him hanging and informed the landlord and police after bringing him down, officials said.
The SHO said the body was kept at SK Hospital mortuary, and a postmortem had not been conducted.
The student's father, Rajesh Kumar Meghwal, told police that Pradeep's NEET examination had gone well and the family was expecting him to score around 650 marks.
Former Rajasthan deputy chief minister Sachin Pilot expressed grief over the incident and linked it to anxiety among students after reports of irregularities and paper leaks in NEET 2026.
Pilot said repeated paper leak incidents and cancellation of examinations were affecting students' mental health and demanded a time-bound investigation and strict action against those responsible.
