Contribute to US election campaign, with a tweet

WASHINGTON - Twitter announced Tuesday a new feature allowing users to make contributions to a political candidate through a tweet.

"This is the fastest, easiest way to make an online donation, and the most effective way for campaigns to execute tailored digital fundraising, in real time, on the platform where Americans are already talking about the 2016 election and the issues they are passionate about," said Jenna Golden, who heads political advertising for Twitter.

Twitter is teaming up on the service with Square, the online payments firm launched by Jack Dorsey, who is also a co-founder of Twitter and its interim chief executive.

Once a campaign has been verified by Square, it can tweet a unique link to request donations from supporters. The tweet will include an image with a "contribute" button, to allow anyone to click to donate directly through the social network.

Twitter, which is in the midst of a search for a new CEO, has been struggling to regain market confidence amid growth below that of rival social networks.