Facebook has blocked a Christian-themed advertisement for violating its speech regulations — apparently because it mentions Christianity and Jesus, according to a Christian advocate.
Sylvia, proprietor of the group “A Spiritual Journey With Jesus, The Divine Mercy,” tried to post an advertisement last week promoting her movement to encourage Christians to pray daily at 3 pm, which the Bible says is the exact time that Christ died on the cross.
The blocked post, which contained no profanity, simply told Sylvia’s story of coming to Christianity after a period of depression in her life that led to thoughts of suicide.
Facebook, the company founded by billionaire tech wunderkind Mark Zuckerberg, would not allow the advertisement. “Your post wasn’t boosted because it violates Facebook’s ad guidelines by including profanity or language that refers to a person’s age, gender, name, race, physical condition or sexual orientation,” according to a message Facebook sent to Sylvia. “The post is still published, but it is not running as an ad.”
“There’s some issue when I use the word ‘Christian’ or ‘Jesus,'” in Facebook advertisements, Sylvia told Breitbart News.
“I also try to put up an ad called “Being Christian” and they blocked that. It’s very disappointing,” they have that kind of power to regulate speech among its one billion users, she said.
“I would understand if it was in any way violent or discriminatory, but it’s simply a proclamation of love for Jesus,” Sylvia said. “For Facebook to use the kind of power that they have to block that, to me, it’s very upsetting. In terms of human rights and free speech, it’s very disturbing.”
“I tried to re-post the ad with a different title, ‘Follow Me.’ They might allow that because I’ve taken the word ‘Jesus’ out of the title.”
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