Facebook censoring pro-life political ads, again

A pro-life group is crying foul after Facebook removed three of its paid campaign ads from the popular social media platform.

On Thursday, Facebook removed a pro-life ad supporting Tennessee Republican Senate candidate Marsha Blackburn, the Susan B. Anthony List said in a statement. Prior to being pulled by Facebook, the ad had reached an estimated 90,000 voters, the national pro-life group added.

“After Twitter shamefully stifled Marsha Blackburn’s pro-life free speech last year, Sheryl Sandberg promised Facebook would never do the same, even if she personally disagreed with it. That’s proven to be an empty promise," said SBA List president Marjorie Dannenfelser.

She added, “SBA List has faced repeated censorship over the last few weeks and now our ad supporting Marsha Blackburn has been disapproved, even after more than 90,000 had viewed it. Facebook must immediately stop its censorship of pro-life speech. All the information presented in our ads has been factual, if surprising, to those unwilling to face the reality of pro-abortion extremism. Facebook is censoring the truth and political free speech.”

Blackburn’s campaign announcement video was indeed blocked in October 2017 by Twitter, which hid behind the farcical argument that her pro-life rhetoric was " inflammatory" and that it could "evoke a strong negative reaction." Last week, SBA List was told something very similar after Facebook removed two additional ads from its platform.

An ad titled “ Charlotte” was blocked last week by Facebook from running in Arizona. Another ad, titled “ Micah,” which was slated to run in Iowa, was also removed last week by Facebook. The social media giant explained in an email that it doesn’t allow ads “ that feature sensational or graphic content.” It's unclear how Facebook defines the words "graphic" and "sensational."

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