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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Flight services between Kolkata, Dubai resume partially
Kolkata (PTI): Flight services between Kolkata and Dubai resumed partially on Thursday, after a four-day suspension due to the ongoing conflict in the Middle East, officials said.
A flydubai aircraft from Dubai landed at the Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose International Airport here at 2:40 am with 130 passengers on board, marking the first arrival from the Middle East after services were halted for over 113 hours, they said.
The Boeing 737 Max aircraft was scheduled to arrive at 12:25 am, Kolkata airport officials said.
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The same aircraft departed for Dubai at 3:59 am with 55 passengers, they said.
The last flight to depart for the Middle East from Kolkata before the suspension was an Emirates aircraft to Dubai on February 28, the officials said.
International services between Kolkata and cities such as Dubai, Doha and Abu Dhabi were disrupted, after airlines temporarily suspended operations amid escalating tensions and airspace restrictions in parts of the Middle East, due to the conflict involving the US, Israel and Iran.
There is no clear indication about when all the Middle East routes will fully reopen, they said.
