Facebook has reportedly restored a previously banned advertisement from Republican congressional candidate Elizabeth Heng after the ad was initially deemed “too shocking, disrespectful, or sensational” for the platform.
Following Breitbart News’ report of Republican congressional candidate Elizabeth Heng, who is running in California’s 16th congressional district seat, having her campaign ad blocked by Facebook, the social media Master of the Universe has reportedly reinstated the video ad on the platform. Heng initially revealed that the ad had been denied access to Facebook’s ad network for being “too shocking, disrespectful, or sensational” for including factual information about Cambodia under communism, which her family fled for America. The ad can be viewed on Facebook.
A tweet from Heng discussing the rejection can be seen below:
.@facebook rejected my video because it was “too shocking” for their platform, referring to the scenes of horrific events my parents survived in Cambodia. Facebook, do you think it’s right to censor history? #censorship
Full ad here: https://t.co/SY0w1o327m pic.twitter.com/etvlZYK22N— Elizabeth Heng (@ElizabethHeng) August 4, 2018
At the time, Heng commented on the issue saying:“It is unbelievable that Facebook could have such blatant disregard for the history that so many people, including my own parents, have lived through,” declared Heng in a statement. “I’m sure it is shocking for some people to hear about this kind of injustice, but this is reality. This is why I wake up every single day with the fight and determination to have a voice and make a difference in my community.”
“Neither Facebook nor any other company in the tech industry get to silence our stories,” she continued. “We’ve seen it over and over again with Republican candidates and organizations.”
Now, it appears that Facebook has reinstated the ad, with a Facebook spokesperson stating: “Upon further review, it is clear the video contains historical imagery relevant to the candidate’s story. We have since approved the ad and it is now running on Facebook.”
The company noted that ads on Facebook are subject to more strict rules than regular posts because they receive paid distribution and that Heng had been allowed to post the video to her page, but the candidate’s inability to gain exposure by denying the video from Facebook’s ad network would have severely limited her ability to have her campaign ad seen.
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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