Facebook is refusing to run two ads from a pro-life group because they are too ‘sensational or graphic.’ The concerning content? Stories of two babies who were born prematurely but survived against the odds.
The digital ads, published by the Susan B. Anthony List, featured the stories of Micah and Charlotte, two babies who were born close to the twenty-week marker of pregnancy and survived to live healthy lives. The goal behind the videos was to promote the dignity of life in the womb while simultaneously highlighting the horror of late-term abortions as midterm elections approach.
Charlotte’s father, Ned Ryun, states in one video that anyone who is “advocating late-term abortions” should take a long hard look at his daughter’s life. The little girl was born at 24 weeks and has survived to live a normal life.
Micah Pickering’s ad tells a similar story. Born at 22 weeks, he continues to live a healthy life also. “Micah today is a wonderful little boy,” stated his mother Danielle. “For somebody to say that a baby at 20 weeks doesn’t have the right to live, I want to tell them to come and see Micah.”
Both ads also featured the ultrasounds and photos of other babies who survived premature birth. However, Facebook considered this content to be ‘sensational’ enough that Charlotte’s ad was removed immediately after posting, while Micah’s ad was allowed to run for only 13 days.
Facebook states in their advertising policy that, “Ads must not contain shocking, sensational, disrespectful or excessively violent content.” Apparently, the survival stories of premature babies violates this policy.
“We reviewed your ad more closely and have determined it doesn’t comply with our Advertising Policies,” Facebook told SBA List in an email. “This ad will not be active any longer until you edit it to comply with policy. You can click the ad name below to see why it wasn’t approved and make edits.”
SBA List was not quiet about the censorship. The organization tweeted:
Our ad telling Micah’s story was allowed to run on Facebook for THIRTEEN days until Facebook’s censors decided to shut the ad down… with NO explanation – see the email we received from them: pic.twitter.com/fusKCKCdu5
— Susan B. Anthony List (@SBAList) October 24, 2018
This is not the first time that Facebook has been accused of censoring conservative figures and groups, and it seems likely it will not be the last.
Photo credit: Screenshot via YouTube
