Facebook Blocks Ads For Pot Legalization Campaign

[marmar]

from HuffPost:



For a typical college student, if it didn't happen on Facebook, it didn't happen. That gives the social networking behemoth an out-sized influence on the confines of political debate, if that debate falls outside what Facebook deems acceptable discourse.

Proponents of marijuana legalization, which is on the California ballot in 2010, have hit a Facebook wall in their effort to grow an online campaign to rethink the nation's pot laws. Facebook initially accepted ads from the group Just Say Now, running them from August 7 to August 16, generating 38 million impressions and helping the group's fan page grow to over 6,000 members. But then they were abruptly removed.

Adam Noyes, a spokesman for Facebook, said that the problem was the pot leaf. "It would be fine to note that you were informed by Facebook that the image in question was no long acceptable for use in Facebook ads. The image of a pot leaf is classified with all smoking products and therefore is not acceptable under our policies," he told the group in an email, which was provided to HuffPost.

Noyes is on vacation and didn't respond to an email. A request sent to Facebook's general press address generated an auto-reply indicating that the company receives many requests and intends to respond. ...........(more)

The complete piece is at: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2010/08/24/facebook-blocks-ads-for-p_n_692295.html

[brooklynite]

1. Complain all you want, but....

...Facebook is a private service provided for free to its users. They get to decide what's allowable and what's not. You get to decide if you want to use it.

[John Q. Citizen]

2. are you of the opinion that private companies are deaf to the complaints of it's customers?

I think complaining is the best place to start. Often a well placed complaint is all it takes to get a company to change it's policy.

My bet is this will happen. Face book will address this in some fashione, and the campaign will get tons and tons of free exposure because face book is censoring a picture of a leaf.


Banned on Face Book!!!!!

[dem mba]

5. or the group could just remove the image of the pot leaf

from their campaign.

[John Q. Citizen]

6. When the Repos give up the Elephant and the Dems give up the Donkey is about when

you can expect the cannabis culture to give up a picture of cannabis.

I guess Face Book is afraid of a picture of a leaf? What did you say their policy was, exactly?


Oooohh. Must be a very powerful and scary scary picture of a leaf...

Boo, Face Book, Boo!

(Get "it?") They used to call cannabis "boo"?

Is "boo" banned as well?

Did you know the word "canvass" is from cannabis? Since canvass material was made for years from cannabis, it was named after it. So when Obama had us going up to targeted doors in '08 and having political conversations and asking for support we were cannabis'ing, so to speak.

Isn't that terrifying? At least to Face Book I guess. If you include a scary picture!!!!!!!!!!!!! Of a freaking leaf!!!!!!!!!

[MilesColtrane]

3. K & R

[The Midway Rebel]

4. kewl

yet another reason for me not to FB it.