Up and Coming Weekly is a weekly publication in Fayetteville, NC and Fort Bragg, NC area offering local news, views, arts, entertainment and community event and business information.
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WWW.UPANDCOMINGWEEKLY.COM DECEMBER 29, 2021 - JANUARY 4, 2022 UCW 5 It's not personal; it's just business — or so Facebook assures me. On this matter, I'm inclined to believe the company (now called Meta by its CEO and nearly a dozen other human beings). However, that doesn't make my latest encounter with the social-media giant any less frustrating. I just spent many days jumping through its autho- rization hoops to run political ads on a Facebook page I manage. And even after finishing the process, I still had my ad rejected and had to appeal the decision multiple times. Before you accuse me of burying the lead, let me clarify. I am not aban- doning my longtime role as a political commentator to run for office. I am, of course, unelectable. ousands of highly opinionated newspaper columns and TV appearances over more than three decades will do that to the best of men and to me. No, what set off Facebook's alarm was something else entirely. It flagged me as attempting to use boosted posts on a non-political page to promote a political cause. According to the policies Face- book adopted amidst criticism of the role its ads played in the 2016 election and subsequent controversies, that's a no-no. Facebook now requires special autho- rization and disclosures to run "ads made by, on behalf of or about a candidate for public office." Facebook imposes the same requirements for ads about "social issues" that are "sensitive topics that are heavily debated" and "may influence the outcome of an election or result in/relate to existing or proposed legislation." Earlier this year, I published my first novel, "Mountain Folk." It's a historical fantasy set during the Revolutionary War. I set up a Facebook page to promote the book and occasionally spend a few dol- lars boosting posts about its characters, settings and themes. It was one of those boosted posts that Facebook rejected multiple times. e post consisted almost entirely of review excerpts. As best I can determine, this was the offending pas- sage, taken from a magazine review: "Fairies, elves, dwarves, water maid- ens, monsters and more. Soldiers and heroes of the American Revolution. Founding Fathers of our country like Washington and Jefferson. Cherokee and Shawnee women and warriors. A min- ister turned soldier and politician who is unembarrassed to quote Scripture. row all these ingredients into a stew pot of fiction, turn up the burner and you soon have bubbling on the stove John Hood's 'Mountain Folk.'" See the problem? e reviewer de- scribed George Washington and omas Jefferson as "Founding Fathers of our country." at could be construed as an implicit endorsement of candidates for public office — assuming Facebook readers possess time machines, that is, or that some evil genius is reanimating the corpses of dead presidents to affect a zombie takeover of the federal govern- ment (which would, I admit, be some- thing of an improvement). Another explanation may be that the post described a Revolutionary War hero as a minister "unembarrassed to quote Scripture." e role of devout Christians in the country's founding could be con- strued as a "sensitive topic," as could the parts of Cherokee and Shawnee leaders. Or perhaps the post was deemed an at- tempt to hinder the legislative prospects of the Elf Liberation Act. Okay, I know perfectly well that algorithms are involved. Facebook felt compelled to tighten up its advertising policies after a slew of politically charged attacks by powerful individuals and ac- tivist groups. But the absurdity of my case merely serves to illustrate the greater absurdity of the present moment. Upset by claims you consider baseless or ideas you consider objectionable? e proper remedy is neither govern- ment restrictions on political speech nor heavy-handed policies by social-media platforms. Don't hinder debate. Encour- age it. "We are not afraid to follow truth wherever it may lead," Jefferson famously said, "nor to tolerate any error so long as reason is left free to combat it." Official disclaimer: this is not an endorsement of Washington/Jefferson '24. OPINION On becoming a political advertiser by JOHN HOOD JOHN HOOD, Chairman, John Locke Foundation. Contributing Writer. COMMENTS? Editor@upandcomin- gweekly.com. 910-484-6200 Photo courtesy of Pexels. 4104 Raeford Rd. Fayetteville, NC 28304 910.483.1234 www.bryanhonda.com Proudly Serving Our Community For 75 Years. Home of the Bryan Honda $3,010 Advantage!