Brian Anderson
Last week, I was censored on Facebook after I blogged about the importance of the Constitution of the United States and the rule of law as a method of providing stability in society. Also, I mentioned that the word “conservative” has turned into a caricature and no longer reflects the idea that words can preserve a particular status quo, because they bind us to a certain ideal. I made other comments which you can view on the original post.
Then, I proceeded to post the short article to Facebook, as I normally do. What is the good of a blog if no one is reading it? Much like this blog, I should point out, the Anderson Law blog serves two functions: I get to write and explore ideas; and I can publicize myself or Anderson Law and the things we believe in generally. So, I published it on Facebook with the intro “One little known fact: you can be conservative and liberal at the same time.”
And then I decided to boost it.
Boosting Explained
Facebook is a very diluted platform. People don’t share as much as they used to, especially since the 2020 election cycle created more wedges and schisms between human beings with differing political viewpoints. And since people don’t share as much as they used to, the average feed has become dominated by advertisements. Some of these advertisements are based on previous searches (creepy cookies), some of these are based on pages or products that you like, and some of these are just general ads that are “boosted”, or highlighted through the payment of a small fee. It’s like stepping onto a really small pedestal and then selling your product, service, or message to passersby. It’s not like having a megaphone. It’s also not like traditional ads where people who you want to see your message see it. It’s pretty worthless, which is maybe why it doesn’t cost very much.
But, I do it anyway because the options in the brave new world of social media are seriously limited.
And then I get this message: ad rejected because it’s about social issues.
I’ve Got Issues
Yes, the post was about social issues like the law, the Constitution, and how we can “resolve to build our communities, to stand for the ideals of the Constitution, and [how we can] pay heed to our emotions without allowing them to destroy that which is good”. This seems like a natural point of dialogue for a lawyer and a law office. And promoting this sort of dialogue, without politicizing it, seems like a proper business objective and maybe even something that people who use Facebook would enjoy doing.
So, can someone explain to me why that is a post that Facebook should be censoring? Or how I should style the post so that it’s not in violation of Facebook’s community guidelines? Because I have a lot of legal issues that I would like to discuss, and I’d like them to be just a little more visible without trying to be salacious. Is that too much to ask? At least it wasn’t about religion, which may have been addressed in the Bill of Rights as another social issue. If you have any ideas, please comment below. Let’s make this as fun and creative as possible.
There is a silver lining, though. When I boosted a post today about the social issue of higher education, and even threw some cash into the air as part of my advertisement, I wasn’t blocked!
