Facebook has reportedly removed a recent ad from the Trump campaign, claiming that the ad features factually incorrect information about refugees and the coronavirus pandemic.
NBC News reports that Facebook stated this week that it took down political ads by the Trump campaign that claimed that accepting refugees from abroad could increase the risk of exposure to the coronavirus.
This is the version of the Trump campaign ad removed by Facebook:
Facebook spokesperson Andy Stone said in a statement on the removal: “We rejected these ads because we don’t allow claims that people’s physical safety, health, or survival is threatened by people on the basis of their national origin or immigration status.”
The ad from the Trump campaign featured footage of Democratic nominee Joe Biden discussing border security and claims that Biden would increase refugee admissions from Somalia, Syria, and Yemen by 700 percent. The ad further states that “an increase in refugees” represents public health risks.
The ads were targeted to key swing states such as Florida and North Carolina, some of the variations of the ad received thousands or tens of thousands of impressions according to NBC. One version of the ad was targeted at Facebook users in Florida and received 5,000 to 6,000 impressions before being removed while another version targeted at people in North Carolina received between 60,000 to 70,000 impressions.
A second, longer version of the ad is still on Facebook as of this writing:
Donald J. Trump for PresidentTrump campaign spokesperson Courtney Parella commented on the ad removal in a statement: “While President Trump took decisive action to restrict travel from China to slow the spread of coronavirus and saved countless lives, Joe Biden was busy calling the President xenophobic and arm-chair quarterbacking his pandemic response. Americans deserve to know that if Joe Biden were president, he would ‘immediately surge the border’ and increase refugees, exposing Americans to further risk of exposure to COVID-19. When it comes to leading our nation through this crisis and delivering the Great American Comeback, Americans can rely on President Trump.”
Lucas Nolan is a reporter for Breitbart News covering issues of free speech and online censorship. Follow him on Twitter @LucasNolan or email him at lnolan@breitbart.com
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