Facebook admits it blocked Florida State Rep. Matt Caldwell’s (R-79) pro-Second Amendment ad.
On Tuesday the Tampa Bay Times reported that Caldwell’s ad had been blocked on Facebook, which included blocking news that the NRA had endorsed Caldwell for Florida Commissioner of Agriculture.
Caldwell’s campaign said they received a message from Facebook, which said: “Not Approved: Your ad can’t promote the sale of weapons or ammunition.” He responded, “Facebook’s liberal agenda is keeping our campaign for Commissioner of Agriculture from sharing our message. Facebook has mislabeled our ad in an effort to censor our pro-Second Amendment support and endorsement from the NRA.”
Fox News reports that Caldwell’s ad was 15 seconds long. In it, he said, “I’m Matt Caldwell. I like guns. I love the Second Amendment, and I support our president. That’s why I’m endorsed by the NRA.”
Amid public backlash, the social media site said they had mistakenly rejected the ad and, as of Tuesday evening, they had apologized and Caldwell’s ad was up and running.
AWR Hawkins is an award-winning Second Amendment columnist for Breitbart News, the host of the Breitbart podcast Bullets with AWR Hawkins, and the writer/curator of Down Range with AWR Hawkins, a weekly newsletter focused on all things Second Amendment, also for Breitbart News. He is the political analyst for Armed American Radio. Follow him on Twitter: @AWRHawkins. Reach him directly at awrhawkins@breitbart.com. Sign up to get Down Range at breitbart.com/downrange.