Tennessee Republican Senate candidate Rep. Marsha Blackburn (R-TN) slammed Facebook on Thursday for censoring the Susan B. Anthony List’s pro-life ad.
The Susan B. Anthony List announced on Thursday that Facebook decided not to approve one of its ads chastising Democrat candidate Phil Bredesen for obfuscating his pro-choice views. The SBA List also referred to Blackburn as a “pro-life champion.”
Here is the ad in question:
Blackburn slammed Facebook in a statement on Thursday, contending that this serves as another instance of Silicon Valley’s censorship of conservatives online.
“Facebook’s decision to take down this ad is just another example of the liberal elites of Silicon Valley censoring conservative ideas online,” said Blackburn. “We have repeatedly seen a demonstrated bias against conservatives, and it needs to stop. The SBA List has a record of principled leadership on pro-life issues, and it is an honor to have their support in my race for United States Senate.”
Facebook’s disapproval of the Susan B. Anthony List strikes a contrast from Facebook Chief Operating Officer (COO) Sheryl Sandberg’s statement that she would not ban ads that have pro-life views, despite her own pro-choice beliefs and support for Planned Parenthood.
Sandberg asked rhetorically, “The question is, ‘Should divisive political or issue ads run?’”
The Facebook executive answered, “Our answer is yes–because when you cut off speech for one person, you cut off speech for all people”:
Facebook has yet to respond to Breitbart News’s request for comment about why it decided that the Susan B. Anthony List ad violated its “advertising policies.”
Susan B. Anthony’s censorship comes off the heels of Google’s refusing to air a Tennessee Republican Party ad supporting Blackburn for Senate on Wednesday. In October 2017, Twitter blocked a pro-life Blackburn for Senate ad, claiming the ad was “inflammatory.”
Despite the Silicon Valley giants’ censorship of ads promoting Blackburn, the Tennessee conservative continues to lead in the polls. An Emerson College poll released on Thursday has Blackburn leading Democrat Bredesen by eight points—52 to 44 percent. Blackburn’s lead remains well beyond the survey’s three percent margin of error.
Blackburn might serve as a larger target of censorship compared to other Republican candidates this election cycle due to her criticism of Silicon Valley’s censorship of conservative voices. Rep. Blackburn, as the chairman of the House Communications and Technology Subcommittee, held hearings and suggested that these tech giants need to face regulation to prevent online censorship of conservative and alternative voices.
Blackburn told Breitbart News in an interview in June that social media companies need regulation to prevent their censorship practices.
“We are focused on making certain that we look at these violations and make certain that we schedule the proper oversight and proper hearings; we want to be certain that they don’t censor conservatives,” Blackburn said.