Facebook says it is sorry for a rejecting an advertisement supporting Republican U.S. Senate candidate Marsha Blackburn, calling the move a “mistake”.
The social media company’s response comes after Susan B. Anthony List, a national anti-abortion interest group, claimed Facebook rejected a 30-second video ad that supports Blackburn while slamming her opponent, Democrat Phil Bredesen.
BREAKING: This morning Facebook banned our 30-second ad exposing pro-abortion @PhilBredesen in Tennessee and supporting #ProLife Marsha Blackburn for Senate.
Watch the ad Facebook censored: pic.twitter.com/BHlklKqD0Q#TNSen @VoteMarsha #IVoteProLife✅— Susan B. Anthony List (@SBAList) November 1, 2018
“Facebook’s decision to take down this ad is just another example of the liberal elites of Silicon Valley censoring conservative ideas online,” Blackburn said in a statement. “We have repeatedly seen a demonstrated bias against conservatives and it needs to stop.”
News Channel 11 reached out to Facebook about the situation. The company issued this statement, apologizing for the mistake and saying it has restored the advertisement.
“This ad does not violate Facebook’s policies and should never have been rejected. We’re sorry for this mistake – the ad has been restored and is now running on Facebook.”
-Facebook spokesperson
Earlier this week, Google received criticism after it blocked two ads by the Tennessee Republican Party. The company says it rejected them due to profanity and swearing.
See also: Google responds after blocking Tennessee GOP ads
In 2017, Twitter blocked a video of Blackburn announcing her campaign for U.S. Senate over “inflammatory language.”