Facebook Continually Pulls Ads of Libertarian Candidates on Election Eve

On the day before the Midterm Elections, Facebook appeared to be purging ads from Libertarian Gubernatorial candidates.

The Libertarian Republic brought you the story of New York Governor Candidate Larry Sharpe being blocked on Facebook from buying campaign ads the eve of the election. It now appears as if Sharpe was not alone.

Phillip Anderson is also a Gubernatorial Candidate on the Libertarian Party ticket in the state of Wisconsin. On November 2nd, Anderson placed an ad with Facebook for his campaign. Today, the eve of the election, Facebook pulled his ad and rejected it.

Anderson wrote on Facebook: 

“Screwed by Facebook. Went through the whole stupid process of getting approved to run ads, got this ad approved. Criminal Justice reform, targeted to Mikwaukee. They pulled it. Cryptocurrency not mentioned once. Bastards.”

Anderson posted a screenshot of the rejection notice:

The notice indicates the ad has been rejected due to financial products and services, specifically Cryptocurrency.

While Anderson does accept Bitcoin as a form of campaign contribution, this isn’t actually listed anywhere on the page linked in his ad. The content of his ad was a link to his platform on Criminal Justice Reform on his campaign website. As noted by Anderson, Cryptocurrency is not mentioned on the page linked to the ad.

The platform on Criminal Justice reform on the page linked to the ad reads:

“We must end the racist War on Drugs in Wisconsin, by first, legalizing recreational marijuana. Even most Republican-leaning people agree with legalization, and their party does not represent them on this. We must also decriminalize other drugs and treat drug addiction as a medical problem and move users into treatment programs and out of jails. I will oppose, wherever possible the Federal War on Drugs and any attempts to subvert state laws.” 

 “We must roll back mandatory minimum sentencing laws, so that judges are free to determine the just sentence for a particular situation.” 

 “We must not block juries from being aware of jury nullification. Juries do have the right to return a verdict of not guilty, not based on evidence, but based on an unjust law. Current practice in Wisconsin forbids juries from being informed of their right to nullify, and as Governor, I will end this injustice, so that juries can do the right thing in response to unjust laws.” 

“As Governor I will immediately convene a Pardon Advisory Board, comprised of legal advisors and community members, and begin pardoning those incarcerated for victimless crimes. I will also support and promote expungement of criminal records of those only guilty of victimless crimes. “ 

“We must also honor and consider basic voting rights for all Wisconsinites. Convicted felons, once out of jail but still on paper, are prohibited from voting in Wisconsin. The punishment does not fit the crime. Everyone of legal age and residency should be free, and indeed encouraged, to vote, unless they are guilty of voter fraud. Your vote is your voice, and we must not silence people’s political voices unjustly.”  

“None of us are truly free until we are all free, and it is my intent as Governor to insist on a system that treats those most historically oppressed and incarcerated the same as everyone else- with justice and parity.”

As Anderson stated in his grievance, neither Bitcoin nor Cryptocurrency are mentioned on the page linked to the ad.

If you believe it’s a coincidence that this is only happening to Libertarian candidates, and on the eve of the Midterms, then I have a bridge to sell you. And yes, I do accept Bitcoin.