Facebook and Google have been forced to recognize that Russian agents bought a ton of ads on their platforms in the lead-up to the election in hopes spreading disinformation and sowing general discontent, and while it seems like the problem wasn’t as bad on Twitter, the company is still planning to overhaul the way its ads work. Variety reports that Twitter is set to launch what it calls an “Ad Transparency Center” that will make it easier to see who is spending money on ads and what ads are being presented to you. On top of that, Twitter will make it clearer which ads are part of a political campaign, and users will be able to look up how much money an advertiser spent on those particular ads, which demographics they’re being targeted at, and how much money an advertiser has historically spent on political ads.
Basically, the next time an election rolls around, you’ll be able to easily see when someone is actually sharing their awful opinion or if they’re a dummy account that’s funded by a company with a suspiciously patriotic name that exclusively posts ads targeted at your most annoying relatives. It all sounds like a surprisingly good idea, even though some users still haven’t been blessed with the increased 280-character limit.