Facebook censors pro-life messages
A young woman is standing outside a caravan in a trailer park with her baby in a wrap
Facebook prevented Iowans for Life from “boosting” last week’s blogpost: “Pro-lifers don’t care about the mother or child after she gives birth. HOGWASH!” Did you read it? If not, read it now as background to today’s blogpost which reveals how Facebook censors pro-life messages.
For those of you not familiar with the process of boosting a Facebook post, publishers of content, such as IFL, can pay Facebook to promote our postings on the feeds of audiences we target.
Last week’s post highlighted the pro-woman and pro-child outreach of InnerVisions HealthCare after mothers give birth, a direct refutation of Big Abortion’s assertion that pro-lifers don’t care about the baby after she is born.
Our Facebook and website traffic skyrocketed.
When we went to boost the post, Facebook rejected it, deeming it “too political” in nature.
We’re not alone.
LifeNews has had their content blocked by Facebook. So has LiveAction, Birthright, Right to Life of Michigan, and Warriors for Christ. Even Academy Award winning actor, Jon Voight, had his crowd-funding campaign blocked. Why? He’s starring in a pro-life movie, “Roe V Wade: The Movie.” It’s not just Facebook. Multiple pro-life groups accuse Twitter of doing the same.
Zuckerberg testifies
Facebook founder and CEO, Mark Zuckerberg testified before Congress in April regarding a variety of issues, including use of private data and censorship.
He was asked by pro-life Senator Ben Sasse,
“Can you imagine a world where you might decide that pro-lifers are prohibited from speaking about their abortion views on your platform?”
Here is Zuckerberg’s response. Read it carefully:
“I certainly would not want that to be the case.
SASSE: “It might really be unsettling to people who’ve had an abortion to have an open debate about that, wouldn’t it?”
ZUCKERBERG: “It might be, but I don’t think that that would fit any of the definitions of what we have but I do generally agree with the point that you’re making which is as we’re able to technologically shift especially towards having AI [artificial intelligence] proactively look at content, I think that’s going to create massive questions for society about what obligations we want to require companies to fulfill.”
“I do think that that’s a question that we need to struggle with as a country because I know other countries are and there putting laws in place. I think America needs to figure out and create the principles we want American companies to operate under.”
Facebook promises “transparency”
Facebook has put out new regulations which promise more “transparency” but which really restrict free speech by conservatives generally and pro-life causes specifically. In other words, it seems Zuckerberg told the Senate what he thought they wanted to hear in his first sentence, and then went ahead and disregarded his own testimony.
Good news
The news isn’t all bad. The Supreme Court overturned an anti free speech law (NIFLA v. Becerra) passed in California which compelled pro life health centers to advertise abortion services provided by their competitors. Even more, Anthony Kennedy’s retirement has raised hopes in the pro-life community for a new jurist who honors the pro-life principles enshrined in the Declaration of Independence and our Constitution.
You can help
In the meantime, you can help us on social media platforms. Since Facebook provides us a very narrow range of acceptable content we can promote, it’s up to you to share the content on your personal pages. Can you imagine them allowing us to promote this post?
Iowans for LIFE is all about educating our culture on the dignity of human life from fertilization to natural death. Facebook is one platform we utilize to advance this mission.
When they say no to IFL, we need you to say yes. SHARE our message of hope.
[Iowans for LIFE invites you to attend the most provocative, fun, and celebratory pro-life fundraising banquet ever! Register today for “A Clash of Creeds.” Yes, it’s not until October 24th, but two-thirds of our tables are already sold! Don’t wait!]
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